Pain, Elaria had learned, was memory made flesh.
She bore its mark on her body—burns on her collarbone, a scar beneath her ribs, fresh bruises from her sister's hands. But the ache in her heart? That was older. Hungrier.
At dawn, she stood at the balcony of Raventhorn, staring into the endless sky. The world was shifting again. And this time, the enemy wore her face.
Kael appeared behind her in silence, as he often did. His heat curled around her like armor.
"She lived," he said.
Elaria nodded. "I know."
He stepped beside her, shirtless, crimson runes carved into his skin from their joining the night before.
"She'll return."
"Then we sharpen the knives."
They gathered the war council in the lower sanctum, a chamber older than the empire. Maps hovered in the air, animated by spell-light. Advisors bickered over strategy, but Elaria remained quiet—listening, always listening.
It was the dragon inside her that stirred first.
Kael noticed the subtle shift in her posture.
"What is it?"
"There's someone here."
An intruder.
The room fell silent as Elaria raised her hand.
Then, from the shadows, stepped a woman.
She wore desert silks and armor made from serpent bone. Her eyes glowed amber, her smile sharp.
"Queen Elaria. The Scorched One. I come with a message from the Seers of the Black Dune."
The guards moved. Kael blocked them.
"Let her speak."
The woman bowed.
"The Mirror Queen has entered a covenant. Not with your gods. But with something older. Deeper. The thing that sleeps beneath the Ashdeep."
Gasps. Spells shimmered.
Kael's eyes darkened. "That thing is myth."
"So was she," the woman replied. "Until she burned cities with her smile."
Elaria stood.
"What does she want?"
The messenger tilted her head.
"You."
Later, in the war room, Kael confronted her.
"You knew this wasn't just about the throne. Didn't you?"
Elaria nodded. "Selyra never cared about power. She only wanted what I had. Even my pain."
Kael touched her face.
"Then give her none."
She kissed him, rough and fast, tasting blood.
"I'm not giving her anything. I'm taking it back."
They rode north at twilight.
Elaria on a dark wyvern. Kael in dragon form, trailing smoke. Their target: the Obsidian Hollow, a cursed trench said to touch the world below.
It was there Selyra had made her pact.
And it was there Elaria would end her.
The Hollow was worse than legend.
A wound in the earth. Magic screamed here, twisted and loud. Night never lifted. And the wind carried voices.
Kael circled above while Elaria descended into the pit. Each step burned. Each breath tasted like ash and secrets.
She found her sister kneeling at a black altar.
Naked.
Marked with runes that moved.
Elaria stepped into the circle.
"What have you done?"
Selyra turned, smiling. Her body glowed with new power. Her voice, layered with something inhuman.
"I've found freedom. You still wear chains."
"I wear a crown."
Selyra laughed. "So did mother. Didn't save her."
They circled each other like wolves.
"You can't kill me here," Selyra whispered. "The Hollow protects its children."
Elaria raised her sword. "Then I'll burn it down."
The sisters clashed again.
But this time, Selyra was faster. Stronger. Her magic cracked the air, bending reality. Shadows reached for Elaria.
Until Kael crashed into the Hollow.
He landed between them, roaring flame. His eyes locked on Elaria.
"Run!"
"I don't run."
Selyra struck him with a beam of black light. He staggered.
Elaria screamed and lunged.
They fought in pure chaos—steel and claw, light and shadow. But the Hollow warped around them, feeding Selyra.
She slammed Elaria into the altar.
"You're too late. It's already inside me."
Her hands wrapped around Elaria's throat.
"Say goodbye, sister."
And then Kael bit her.
With dragon fangs.
Deep.
Selyra screamed and vanished into smoke, leaving blood on the stone.
They dragged themselves from the Hollow at dawn.
Kael collapsed beside her, his wounds still steaming.
Elaria pressed her hand to his chest.
"You risked too much."
"So did you."
They kissed again.
But this time, it wasn't war.
It was survival.
She straddled him there in the ruins. Dirt, sweat, and blood painting their bodies. No armor. No titles.
Just flesh. And fire.
He groaned beneath her as she rode him slow, their pain and pleasure mingling into something holy.
"Say my name," she demanded.
"Elaria."
"Louder."
"My queen."
She shattered around him, voice breaking like glass.
And when he followed, roaring into the sky, the Hollow trembled.
They returned to Raventhorn two days later.
Selyra was gone.
But something darker was coming.
The Seers called it the Hollowborne.
A creature forged from Selyra's body and the god beneath the world.
And it wanted Elaria's crown.
And her blood.
"Then let it come," Elaria said as she stared into the mirror.
Kael stood behind her, sword in hand.
"Let the world burn if it must. But this time…"
She turned, fire in her eyes.
"We burn first."