The kingdoms were stirring.
Not yet in war but in warning.
Whispers flew across the continent like crows loosed from cages. From the deep river courts of the Witchborne Isles to the silver towers of the Human Throne, word was spreading:
"The Flame has returned."
"The cursed princess walks with power."
"The Devil's Queen is rising."
In the north, kings summoned their generals.
In the east, covens lit ward-fires that had not burned in a hundred years.
In the west, the Order of the Chain dusted off relics buried beneath cathedrals.
And in the south, the demon clans stirred restlessly as if called.
The world could feel it.
Something ancient had awakened.
🜃 At the Hollow…
Seraphira stood at the edge of a map older than parchment, carved directly into stone a relic of the old world, once kept hidden by the Circle.
Her fingers traced the lines between the kingdoms.
None of them will want peace, she said.
No, Theryn agreed. They want power. They want control.
They'll want my head next.
Or your crown.
Elena stepped beside her. So what do we do?
Seraphira turned toward them, her eyes burning not with rage but with clarity.
We call a meeting.
Theryn blinked. A council?
No,Seraphira said. "A summoning."
Across the continent, summons were sent not on paper, but in flame.
Messages woven into fire, carried on enchanted winds, branded into stone by spiral-marked phoenixes conjured from the Hollow itself.
To kings. To warlords. To exiled queens. To demon lieutenants.
One message.
"Come, Speak with the Flame or be consumed by it."
🌑 Meanwhile, in the Underworld…
Kaelreth stood atop the obsidian bridge that led to the Veil's edge.
His generals watched the rising ash with concern.
The kingdoms stir, said Malkor. "They prepare for war."
Kaelreth's expression was unreadable. They always do.
They fear her.
As they should.
Malkor hesitated. But what if she doesn't come to us?
Kaelreth's gold eyes flicked upward. For a moment, they blazed.
"She already is."
He opened his hand. Within it, the sigil pulsed, spiral of fire and shadow intertwined.
"She does not walk toward the Underworld."
"She brings the Underworld with her."