Outside, in the subterranean ritual chamber, the air shattered.
The first seal did not fade; it tore open like wet parchment. A brilliant, golden light burst through the skin of Eris's chest, spilling outward in thick, jagged rays that lit the damp stone walls with the glare of a dying star.
"It's giving!" Aldwin shouted, his long gray hair whipped back by a sudden, unnatural gust of heat. His hands trembled as he drove his oak staff deeper into the carved channel. "Hold the lines! She's through!"
Ellyn leaned his full weight against his focus stone, his knuckles white, a wild grin breaking across his sweat-streaked face.
"The core is opening! Look at the light!"
Soren kept his hand pinned to the small of Eris's back, his teeth gritted against the surge of power pouring through his own arms.
The frost on his skin was glowing, the silver lines of his family's magic weaving directly into the golden fire that spilled from her skin.
