Chapter 6
The black-robed women arrived at dawn.
They rode no horses. They carried no banners. But the city watched them with breath held.
Six of them—hooded, silent—moved through Valla's gates like shadows. Guards stepped aside without being asked. Merchants stopped speaking. Children hid behind mothers.
The Sisterhood had returned.
---
In the Throne Room
King Mathias rose as they entered, his crown catching the sunlight.
"Welcome," he said, voice careful. "You honor us."
The woman at the front lowered her hood. Her face was pale and stern, her eyes milky white.
She was blind.
Yet when she looked at him—he felt seen.
"We come," she said, "because your line has stirred the wind."
Mathias didn't flinch. "Speak plainly."
She stepped closer. "The old fire stirs. The chain you buried shakes in its grave."
Alistair shifted beside the throne. "What do you mean?"
Another sister spoke—this one younger, her voice smooth as silk. "You mean to give the girl to Aethelgar."
"She is a princess," Mathias said. "And they demand alliance."
"She is not just a princess," the younger woman replied.
The blind one raised a hand.
"We will see her."
Mathias tensed. "She is only a child."
"She is the key."
---
Elsewhere
Alissa stood in the royal garden, plucking petals from a bloom. Sunlight danced on the fountain nearby. She did not hear the sisters approach—only felt it.
Cold.
Windless.
Wrong.
She turned.
Six women in black stood behind her.
"You are Alissa of house Valois," the youngest said.
She bowed, unsure. "I am."
The blind one stepped forward.
And then—without warning—grabbed Alissa's wrist.
The garden disappeared.
---
The Vision
Flames.
Screaming.
A crown of thorns.
A throne of ash.
And a chain—broken—snapping across a bloodied floor.
Alissa saw herself, older. Standing alone before a burning palace.
And behind her—two armies. One of men.
One of monsters.
---
Reality
Alissa gasped, wrenching her hand away.
She collapsed to the ground, heart racing.
The sisters stood still, watching.
The blind one smiled.
"She dreams of the throne," the youngest whispered.
"No," the eldest said. "She dreams of ending it."
Alissa shook. "What... what was that?"
The blind woman turned.
"Your future."
Then they walked away.