Prologue

The leaves crunched beneath my feet as I shakily made my way up the hill. My clothes were tattered, heat brewing in every fiber of my being. I could hear the flames crackling from this far away. The sounds consumed my core, stealing every breath I took in from my lungs.

Why?

Why me?

My mind was swirling as branches cut through my tear-smeared cheeks, but I didn't back down. I had to keep moving. I had to—

Haunting images of her creeped back into my head, messing up my thoughts. The ravished look on her face, her eyes reflecting the red and orange all around us, her soul straining not to break. Don't let us down, son. She said that with her last breath, the light in her golden eyes dimming just like the wish to survive in my heart.

If I had not been reckless. If I had not drawn their attention. If I had not forced her to stand between me and death.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms hard enough to sting.

The wind shifted suddenly, carrying the thick scent of burning wood and something far worse up the hill. The smell wrapped around me, suffocating and inescapable. I stared at the city as the flames swallowed another street.

Another tower collapsed in a shower of sparks.The fire kept crackling.

Loud.

Hungry.

Unstoppable.

Tears blurred my vision but I refused to look away. If this was the consequence of my existence then I would witness every second of it. I would watch until the last piece of Valeris turned to ash.

A hollow feeling spread through my chest, cold and endless despite the raging heat below. Mom's final words echoed in my head.

Don't let us down, son.

My lips parted but no sound came out.The fire raged on. Distant cries rose into the night air, twisted together with the furious roar of flames devouring wood, stone, and everything in between. The sound chased me up the hill like a predator, relentless and hungry. I pressed my hand against my chest as if that could stop the violent pounding of my heart.

Mom was gone.

The thought landed in my mind like a blade sinking deep into flesh.

Gone.

The last image of her refused to leave me. Her body standing between me and them, the light from the fire dancing across her face as if mocking the warmth she once carried. Her hands had been shaking but her voice had not. She looked at me like she always had. Soft. Proud. Unbreakably strong.

The fire had painted the world around us in red and gold, its reflection dancing in her eyes like a cruel imitation of the warmth they used to carry. Her hands had trembled as she held me back, her body standing between me and the shadows that had come for us.

For me.

Her soul had looked like it was cracking under the weight of it all, yet she refused to let it break. Don't let us down, son. Her voice had been soft when she said it, barely louder than the flames devouring the streets behind us.

Run, Solen. I had run. The memory twisted inside my stomach like poison. A sob threatened to tear its way out of my chest but I swallowed it down, forcing my legs to move again. Branches clawed at my arms and face as I pushed through the forest, their sharp edges leaving thin burning lines across my skin. I barely felt them. All I could see was the glow ahead.

The hill was almost bare near the top, the trees thinning out until nothing remained except dark soil and scattered rocks. My legs shook violently as I climbed the final stretch, exhaustion creeping through every muscle.

The heat grew stronger. The air shimmered.

My breath hitched as I finally reached the top. I stopped. For a moment, I could not move. I could barely breathe. Below me lay Valeris. Or what used to be Valeris.The city stretched across the valley like a wounded beast, every street drowning in fire.

Towers that once pierced the sky were collapsing into themselves, their stone foundations cracking under the merciless hunger of the flames.

Roofs caved in one after another, sending sparks spiraling upward into the black sky like dying stars.The temple spires burned the brightest. Their golden surfaces reflected the inferno, turning them into twisted pillars of molten light before one of them finally gave way with a thunderous crash. The sound rolled across the valley and reached me seconds later.

The fire crackled endlessly, loud and alive, devouring everything I had ever known. My home. The market where Mom used to drag me every morning. The streets where I ran as a kid with scraped knees and dirt on my face.

All of it was disappearing into smoke and ash. My throat tightened until it hurt.

I stood there until the flames swallowed every piece of the life I had known, not realizing that the night my world burned was the night fate began watching me.

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