The silver-and-blue light of the realm-crossing dissolved, settling onto the frosted courtyard marble of the Northern Glaciers.Kaedric stepped out of the rift smoothly, his posture relaxed despite how much power the journey had drained from him. Beside him, Skadi stumbled from sheer exhaustion, but before her boots hit the icy stone, a dozen elite estate guards and senior attendants rushed down the grand stairwell to support her.“My Lady!” the head steward gasped, steadying her.Then, every eye in the courtyard turned toward Kaedric.A collective murmur rippled through the staff. They recognized the quiet, imposing presence of the Guardian of Midgard instantly. For weeks, the young master of the house had lain dying beneath a dark Svartheim soul-tether, and every healer in the region had failed. Having Kaedric step into their domain felt like a miracle.“Lord Kaedric... you actually came,” the steward whispered, bowing until his forehead nearly touched the frost. “Please, this way—t

“YOU IMPUDENT BRAT!”Valgard’s roar shook the bedchamber.His face turned purple with fury as he raised his golden staff high above his head. Sacred runes blazed along its length, flooding the chamber with harsh white light.“I will break your legs for that slander!”“Protect the Guardian!” Skadi shouted.Eight heavily armoured estate guards drew their broadswords and rushed between Kaedric and the rune-priests.Steel scraped against leather.The elder healers retreated behind Valgard, raising their own rune-carved staffs as chaos erupted across the chamber.Outside, the nobles crowded against the courtyard railings, straining to see what was happening through the open balcony.Kaedric did not look at the drawn swords.As Valgard’s staff blazed above him, he casually raised two fingers and held them inches from its glowing tip.A single thread of ancient golden fire stirred around his wrist.It was thin and weakened, but the moment it appeared, every flame inside the bedchamber bent t

High above the lower prison, Kaedric’s fingers still hovered over the black veins covering Skadi’s son.The entire bedchamber held its breath.At the doorway, Valgard and the three elder healers watched with mocking smiles. They had spent three weeks trying to destroy the curse. None of them believed that an exhausted warrior could succeed where they had failed.Kaedric lowered his hand.His bare palm struck the centre of the boy’s chest.BOOM!The bed shook violently. The balcony windows rattled in their frames as golden fire rushed from Kaedric’s hand and entered the child’s body.“What is he doing?!” Valgard shouted. “He will kill the boy!”Kaedric ignored him.He did not know the gentle chants used by temple healers. He had never spent years studying sacred herbs or healing runes.Kaedric only knew how to destroy an enemy.And the black thing inside the boy was an enemy.The veins suddenly twisted beneath the child’s skin. They rushed toward Kaedric’s palm and wrapped around his w

“What did you just say?”Kaedric’s voice was low, but the entire bedchamber suddenly became cold.The golden fire around his shoulders rose higher. The mercenary captain pressed his forehead against the floor, shaking so badly that his armour made small sounds against the stone.“The blind woman, my Lord,” he answered quickly. “The woman we brought from the southern lands. She has the silver-blue eyes of House Ashbane. Her face carries your blood. I swear it!”“What rubbish are you saying?” Skadi shouted.She stepped forward with one hand on her sword and glared down at the captain.“Are you drunk? The Ashbane house was destroyed years ago. Everyone knows Lord Kaedric’s only family is his wife and daughter. Now you suddenly appear with a blind woman and call her his sister?”“I am not lying, my Lady!”“Then fear has damaged your head,” Skadi snapped. “You nearly bought an innocent woman, and now you are using the Guardian’s dead family to save yourself.”She turned toward Kaedric.“My

Outside the grand gates of the Ashbane estate in Askheim, the sun had barely crested the marble spires before Halvard’s red, bloated face was already glowing with fury.He stood at the base of the massive iron gates, clutching his gold-trimmed coat around his waist. Four armored estate guards stood before him like unmoving stone statues, their spears crossed to block the entrance.“Are you completely out of your minds?!” Halvard roared, his voice echoing across the clean cobblestone avenue. “Do you have any idea who I am? I am Halvard! The head of my house! My daughter lives inside this grand mansion!”The lead guard did not even blink. He adjusted his grip on his spear and looked down at Halvard with cold, unbothered eyes.“State your business,” the guard said plainly. “No unannounced visitors are permitted past the estate gates.”“Unannounced visitor?!” Halvard screeched, his jaw trembling in disbelief.He stepped forward and poked one fat finger against the guard’s chest armor.“I