Oriana's POV
I stood at the edge of the Valley, my breath hitching as the golden landscape stretched before me. Rivers of molten gold carved through the land like veins of fire, illuminating the horizon in an eternal glow. Marble spires of celestial stone twisted skyward, humming with ancient power. The air shimmered with unbearable heat, thick with the scent of burning embers and divine energy. Above me, the Eternal Sun hung motionless, its light unyielding. It's only been five years since I last set foot in the heart of the sun yet it felt foreign to me, my birthplace. The realm where goddesses are born and unmade.
I clenched my fists, the weight of King Lucine’s letter and the twin rings pressing against my palm. Everything depended on this. If Queen Helios remembered, if she read the
