The final chain broke.For one terrible moment, everything stopped.The bells of Elarion fell silent. The black lake became perfectly still. Even the flames burning along the palace walls froze in place.Then something beneath the city inhaled.The glass coffin exploded.Lira screamed as thousands of fragments flew through the chamber. Kael pulled her behind him, raising his arm as silver threads spread across the air. The fragments stopped inches from their bodies, trembling inside an invisible barrier.Across the chamber, Professor Malrec was thrown against a pillar. Taren ducked behind one of the stone seats, while Seraphine raised both hands and summoned a shield of white fire.But the coffin was no longer there.Neither was the woman inside it."Lira!"Her mother's voice came from somewhere beyond the shattered glass.Lira pushed away from Kael."Mother!"A pale figure stood in the center of the chamber.She wore a simple white dress. Her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulde