The cold marble hit Felix so hard his back teeth clicked together.Light blinded him, sharp and white, burning away the black smoke that still clung to his clothes. He lay flat on his stomach, gasping for air that tasted of sweet incense and hot candle wax instead of mud. Below him, the smooth white stone stretched out in a polished circle, reflecting the grand vaulted roof above."Look at the stage floor!" someone shouted from the high tiers. "Where did he come from?"Felix pushed himself up on shaking arms. His leather tunic was torn, stiff with dried mud, and stained with dark water from the ravine. Thousands of people filled the surrounding balconies, their gold jewelry and silk robes catching the light of a dozen massive chandeliers. Banners featuring silver griffins and golden lions hung from the pillars.A few feet away, Julian took a sharp step back, his hand dropping straight to his sword hilt. His mouth hung open."You," Julian breathed, his voice cracking slightly. "How are

The razor-crawler thrashed wildly in midair, its six spiny legs kicking at the empty darkness. Acidic green saliva dripped from its snapping mandibles, sizzled against Felix’s cheek, and burned his skin.Felix couldn't move his neck. The black tendrils anchored to his ribs held the three-hundred-pound monster pinned six inches above his chest, vibrating with unnatural tension."Do not flinch," the Void Sovereign hissed inside his ears, its voice sounding like grinding stone. "Hold still and open your throat.""It's burning me!" Felix choked out, squinting as the hot, acrid fluid dripped into his eye."Pain is just energy leaving your useless skin," the entity laughed. "Now drink!"The tendrils pulsed. Long, hollow spikes buried inside the beast’s tough shell began to contract, pulling backward like massive syringes. A wet, sickening slurping sound filled the narrow cavern as a bright green glow surged along the length of the shadowy tendrils, traveling straight into the mark on Felix’

The icy rain fell in thick, heavy sheets, washing grease and rotten gutter water down the cobblestones of the lower district. Felix kept his head down, the deep woolen hood pulled low over his forehead. He hugged the shadow of the stone walls, his boots making no sound against the wet rock.Even in the dead of night, the slums were alive with low, desperate energy. Drunks stumbled out of crooked taverns, and ragged refugees huddled under wooden awnings for warmth. Every few minutes, a squad of city watchmen marched through the main street, their silver chestplates shining in the dim light of tallow lamps. They carried long pikes and peered suspiciously into every dark doorway, clearly on high alert."Look at them strutting," the Void Sovereign whispered in Felix’s mind, its tone sharp and mocking. "Fat, soft pigs in shiny suits. A quick pulse of black fire would melt their armor into their skin.""Not yet," Felix muttered into his collar, keeping his face hidden as a pair of guards wa

Frost exploded across the forge floor in a blinding wave of blue light, instantly coating the iron racks and coal piles in thick, crackling ice. Captain Gerald stepped through the ruined doorframe, his rapier dripping with frost, his cold eyes sweeping over the room."Find the defect!" Gerald barked to the four guards surging in behind him. "Check the cellar! Leave the old smith for the flames!"A thick cloud of white steam and coal smoke billowed off the furnace as icy air hit the open coals. From the heavy shadows behind the chimney, Felix did not hesitate. He melted seamlessly into the smoke, his shadow-step carrying him behind Gerald in a fraction of a second.Felix’s scaled right hand shot out from his cloak, clamping around the captain's wrist with the crushing force of an iron vice."Looking for me, Captain?" Felix whispered into Gerald's ear.Gerald gasped, his eyes widening in shock as he tried to channel his ice magic. But the void scales on Felix's arm drank the blue energy

Felix landed on the sloped slate roof of a noble manor, his boots skidding across the rain-slicked tiles before he caught his balance. Forty feet below, the wide marble streets of the upper district were completely deserted, save for patrols of heavy cavalry sweeping past empty fountains.With every leap across the rooftops, the stolen gold magic from Julian pulsed in Felix's bloodstream, binding with the void energy. The black scales on his arm shifted, expanding across his right shoulder and locking around his ribs in flexible, interlocking plates."The magic feels different now," Felix muttered, crouching near a stone gargoyle as rain lashed his hood. "It does not just burn. It flows.""You filled the hollow vessel with noble blood," the Void Sovereign rasped, its voice resonating inside his jaw. "The scales are shifting from raw hide to true void-steel. The arch-mages will not cut through us so easily now."Felix looked up. At the end of the high avenue sat the royal palace, its m