Kael kept his Shadow Blade raised.The figures in the distance were getting closer.Raven didn't seem worried.Instead, he turned toward Kael."You deserve to know the truth."Kael frowned."What truth?""About your father."That got Kael's attention.Lyria lowered her staff slightly.Raven reached up and removed his silver mask.For the first time, Kael could see his face clearly.He looked older than Kael had expected, with a scar running from his left eyebrow down to his cheek."I knew your father," Raven said.Kael stared at him."You said that before.""I didn't tell you everything."Raven looked toward the mountains."Your father wasn't just a man who disappeared.""He was my commander."Kael's eyes widened."My father was a soldier?"Raven shook his head."Not exactly."He took a slow breath."Your father was part of the Shadow Guard."Lyria looked surprised."I thought the Shadow Guard was a myth.""Most people do."Raven gave a small smile."Your father wanted it that way."H

The clearing went silent.The Shadow Cult leader stood several steps away, watching Kael.His silver eyes never left him.Kael kept his Shadow Blade raised."You know who I am."The man smiled."Of course I do."Raven stepped forward."You should have stayed hidden."The leader glanced at him."You still protect the Ashryn family.""I always will."The leader laughed softly."Then you will die with him."Kael stepped between them."Enough."He stared at the stranger."Who are you?"The man removed his black gloves."My name is Malrec.""I am the leader of the Shadow Cult."Kael frowned."Why are you hunting me?"Malrec's smile disappeared."I'm not hunting you.""I'm offering you a choice."Kael lowered his blade slightly."A choice?"Malrec nodded."You've been running from the kingdom.""You've fought soldiers, monsters, assassins, and even your own fears.""And what has it given you?"Kael said nothing.Malrec continued."Pain.""You've lost your parents.""You lost your home.""An

Lyria returned to the Academy before sunrise.She had barely slept.Professor Elden's death kept replaying in her mind.So did the letter.The Crown knows about the Seven Shrines.If that was true, Kael was in more danger than she had thought.She needed answers.More importantly, she needed the records Professor Elden had mentioned.Lyria entered the Academy through a side door and made her way to the old library.The main library was heavily guarded, but the old section had been abandoned for years.She remembered something Professor Elden once told her."The oldest books are never kept where people expect them to be."Lyria walked to the far wall.Three stone statues stood there.She examined them carefully.The middle statue held an open book.Lyria pressed the symbol on its cover.Nothing happened.She tried again.This time, she heard a click.The bookshelf moved.A narrow passage appeared behind it.Lyria stared into the darkness."So this is what you were hiding."She lit a sm

The journey north took them three more days.By the fourth morning, the mountains changed.The snow became darker.Not gray.Black.Kael stopped at the top of a hill and stared ahead.Below them stood the remains of an old kingdom.Broken towers rose from the ground.Houses had collapsed.The old castle in the distance had lost half its walls.No people walked the streets.No birds flew over the ruins.Even the wind seemed quiet.Adrian looked at the ruins."This place wasn't supposed to look like this."Kael turned toward him."You've been here before?""Only in stories."Adrian looked troubled."This was once the Kingdom of Elaris."Lyria studied the map."Elaris disappeared nearly two hundred years ago."Raven pointed toward the ruins."Then something happened."Kael looked at the dark streets below."Let's find out what."They entered the abandoned kingdom.The silence was unsettling.Their footsteps echoed between the empty buildings.Kael noticed claw marks on one of the walls.

The black crown hovered above Kael's head.He could feel its power.It was different from the Shadow Core.Older.Heavier.Before Kael could touch it, the crown suddenly disappeared.The room went silent.Then a sharp pain ran through his arm.Kael grabbed his wrist.Black lines spread from his palm to his fingers."What is happening?"Lyria's voice came from behind him."Kael!"He turned.Lyria, Raven, and Adrian stood at the entrance."We heard an explosion," Raven said.Kael looked at his hand."I think I unlocked something."A black chain suddenly shot from his palm.It slammed into the stone wall.CRACK!Everyone jumped.Kael stared at it.The chain was made of pure shadow.It moved like a living thing.He raised his hand.The chain moved with it.Lyria stepped closer."That's Shadow magic."Kael pulled his hand back.The chain disappeared."Shadow Chains."The name came to him naturally.Adrian looked impressed."Can you control them?"Kael shrugged."I guess we're about to find