The coronation hall of the Crystal Keep was drowned in silence.
Elizabeth stood at the center beneath the shimmering arch of moonstone and flame-forged banners, her golden eyes fixed on the scepter in her hands. Its weight wasn’t just physical it was history, prophecy, and sacrifice.
Every breath she took echoed with memory.
Lucian watched from the steps behind her, armored in obsidian and steel, a silent shadow at her back. Around them gathered wolves from every allied pack, once fragmented by pride and blood, now united under the High Flame Queen.
But unity had its price.
The Solbrand still pulsed at Elizabeth’s hip, its edge sealed, humming with the echoes of the Forgotten God’s final scream. She had banished it, yes but not destroyed it. Somewhere beyond the stars, its presence li
