**The Whispering Ruins**
The ruins of Vaelis breathed.
Eira felt it the moment they stepped into the city's corpse—a slow, rhythmic pulse underfoot, as if the earth itself had a heartbeat. The air smelled of wet stone and something metallic, like old blood trapped in the cracks of the world.
Kaelan moved like a ghost beside her, his shadows coiled tight around his wrists. "The Heart is beneath the cathedral," he murmured. "But the Forgotten will be guarding it."
Eira flexed her fingers, her mark throbbing in time with the distant pulse. *It's calling me.*
Broken statues lined their path, their faces worn smooth by time. But as they passed, Eira could have sworn their hollow eyes *tracked* them.
A whisper slithered through the ruins:
***"She has returned."***
Kaelan's hand found hers, his grip crushing. "Don't listen."
Too late. The whispers dug into her skull like claws—
*"Little light, little liar, you promised us vengeance—"*
Eira wrenched free with a gasp. "They *know* me."
Kaelan's jaw tightened. "They know what you are. Not who."
But the doubt in his eyes betrayed him.
---
**The Cathedral**
The cathedral was a skeleton of its former self, its rib-like arches open to the storm brewing overhead. At its center yawned a staircase spiraling into darkness.
Eira's mark *burned*.
"This is it," Kaelan said, but he didn't move.
She studied his profile—the tension in his shoulders, the way his shadows writhed like caged animals. "You're afraid."
"I've seen what the Heart does to people." His gaze dropped to her wrist. "Especially to those like you."
A cold wind howled up the stairs, carrying the scent of rust and rotting flowers.
Eira squared her shoulders. "Then you'd better catch me if I fall."
She stepped into the dark.
---
**The Heart's Price**
The chamber below was alive.
Vines of pure starlight coiled across the walls, pulsing like veins. At its center floated the Heart—a jagged crystal the size of a human skull, its edges shifting between solid and smoke.
Eira's magic *screamed* in recognition.
Kaelan grabbed her arm. "Wait—"
The Heart *moved*.
It shot toward her, stopping inches from her face. A voice echoed in her mind, sweet and terrible:
***"You owe us a debt, daughter of stars."***
Images assaulted her—
*A younger Shadow King kneeling before the Forgotten, accepting their power.*
*The Celestial Court burning.*
*And her—*no, not her, a woman with her eyes—*plunging the Heart into the first vyrth's chest.*
Eira staggered. "My ancestor… she didn't kill them. She *trapped* them."
***"And now you will free us."*** The Heart's light intensified. ***"Or we will take what we are owed."***
Kaelan's dagger was at the crystal's edge in a flash. "Don't."
The Heart laughed. ***"You would choose him over your own blood?"***
Eira's hands shook. "What do you want?"
***"A vessel."*** The crystal drifted toward Kaelan. ***"His shadows are already half ours."***
Realization dawned. "Your brother," Eira breathed. "He wasn't infected by accident. The king *gave* him to them."
Kaelan's face went deathly pale.
The Heart pressed closer. ***"Give us the Shadowmancer, and we will spare your kind."***
Eira's magic surged. "No."
She grabbed the Heart—
And the world *shattered*.
---
**The Choice**
Fire tore through her veins. The Heart's power flooded her, searing away thought, memory, *self*.
She saw everything.
The Forgotten's true form—not monsters, but beings of pure shadow and starlight, twisted by greed.
The Shadow King's first sin—not stealing power, but *breaking* the balance.
And the terrible truth: the Heart wasn't a weapon.
It was a *cage*.
And she'd just unlocked it.
The crystal dissolved into her skin. Her mark erupted in silver flames, racing up her arm as the first vyrth's voice echoed through the chamber:
***"Thank you, little light."***
The ground trembled. Somewhere above, stone crumbled.
Kaelan hauled her upright. "What did you *do*?"
Eira met his gaze, her eyes blazing with stolen power. "What I had to."
Then the ceiling caved in.
---
### **Teaser for Chapter Six: The Crown of Shadows**
*The Heart's power was inside Eira now—and it was hungry.*
*But the Shadow King had one last weapon.*
*And it wore Kaelan's face.*