a Vanc

over the main enchanting anvil, holding

I was three hours into inscribing the sixth stabilization harmonic of the Ignis matrix. A single tremor of

agonizing spasm rip

tiny, desperate pulse of raw emotional resonance that

mm

terrified, echoed through t

jerked v

with a harsh, screeching scrape. A jagged white frac

ac

nergy before sputtering out, its core dying int

d and clutching my ribs. My heart slammed against my chest l

ar

flickered between a dragon-born child and her mother. She was crying ou

r. I wanted to cast a projection rune, to whisper into the ether, to t

tion crystal on the shelf,

I st

e an inch ab

royal communication towers in Aethelgard. Kaelen's sensory mages would lock onto t

back to that suffocating roost to preserve his court's pristine image, strip my workshop, and

court, raised by Lyra and the elders to view

es as I pulled my hand back and presse

I erected a cold, impenetrable mental wall, blocking the emotional fre

hat followed

, picked up the ruined piece of qua

storage rack, locked it into the mounting vi

eady now. Hard a

it from a position of absolute, unyielding power-