They led Serena down a hidden passage, and runes ignited as she walked, reacting to her presence.
Hyran remained completely unfazed. Serena did as well.
Dex and King Tiberon, however, exchanged glances more than once.
They stopped before a massive door carved from dark stone. They lifted their hoods in unison.
Serena realized they were all wearing the same cloaks. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she was oblivious.
Wonderful. Very observant. Future queen material right there.
Hyran reached for two cloaks hanging beside the threshold, and tossed them to Serena and Elara. "Put these on."
Serena and Elara complied. The cloaks were enormous on both of them.
Elara looked like a child wearing her father's coat. Serena looked worse.
They followed Hyran into the chamber.
Serena bit back a grin. The absurdity of the secrecy was hard to miss. Cloaks or no cloaks, it made little difference. She already knew everyone present. If not by face, then by energy.
All high bloods in Drakenfell.
Elara being bonded to a dragon meant she would become a member.
Serena as well, but even without that, she somehow already had a mark. A mark no one had explained.
The room was pitched dark, save for one fire in a basin.
Then the members began the oath in unison, faces still hidden beneath their hoods.
It was long.
Halfway through, the language shifted into Draken-Vorah.
They spoke without faltering. Five full minutes, every syllable identical, recited verbatim, as if carved into them in childhood and never allowed to fade.
Not one voice broke.
"For those bonded to dragon and not yet sworn," Hyran intoned, "step forward."
Serena and Elara stepped forward, lowering their hoods.
Elara accepted the ritual blade, turned it once in her hand, and cut her palm cleanly. Blood welled. She held her hand over the fire and let the blood fall.
The flame flared, sharp and bright, recognizing her.
She stepped back.
Serena advanced next.
She sliced her palm and held it above the fire. Her blood struck the flame, and the fire shifted to bright gold.
Every rune in the room lit.
Of course it did. Why would anything be normal?
Serena and Elara placed their cut hands, still bleeding, onto the stone slab.
The slab drank.
Hyran stepped forward.
"The Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame predates Drakenfell," he announced. "This oath cannot be altered. It binds blood, bone, and lineage."
"Do you swear before dragon fire to bind your lives to the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame, sworn to the survival of it above crown, kin, and self?"
"I do." Their voices rang in unison.
"Do you swear to live by dragon code? To keep the Hidden Flame secret, even from those you love?"
"I do."
"Do you swear this oath will pass through your blood? That your descendants will answer the call until the fire releases them?"
"I do."
"The Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame was bound for this charge above all else." Hyran paused dramatically. "Do you swear to protect the chosen one, to kneel in reverence, and to answer when summoned?"
"I do."
"Step forward for your Hidden Flame Primeseal."
Elara rolled up her sleeve and placed her hand in the flame. A mark formed on her forearm.
Serena felt it happen on her own mark, but instead of a hot sensation, it was an extreme cold one.
Elara didn't flinch. Because of course she didn't. Show off.
Serena was next, pulling her sleeve back. She revealed a mark already on her arm.
Several sharp inhales echoed through the chamber.
She placed her hand in the flame.
Naturally, it exploded to the ceiling. At this point, she would have been surprised if it hadn't done that.
Energy surged through her.
Her eyes, hair, and entire body ignited in gold light.
Brighter than during the crowning.
Everyone in the room was suddenly wrapped in gold magic. It surged outward first then flowed through them.
A strange protectiveness settled in her chest. Heavy. Instinctive. As if their survival had become her responsibility.
Absurd? Yes. But she felt it in her core.
The burn in her arm, the constant heat that had been growing sharper by the day, finally stopped.
She had forgotten what life felt like without it. The relief was dizzying.
She pulled her hand out of the flame.
"Both blood oaths have been taken," Hyran declared.
Every member removed their hoods in unison.
Serena's eyes flickered back to green, but her body was still glowing gold on its own, the light steady and unasked for.
King Tiberon's lips twitched, openly amused.
She turned toward the pews with Elara, but King Tiberon's voice cut through the movement.
"Serena. You stay."
She stopped mid-step.
Facing the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame.
Hyran returned a moment later, handing her a large book. It was ancient-looking with a heavy latch double-locking it.
"Open it," he said, mischief dancing in his eyes.
Serena couldn't help but grin at his expression. Hyran being playful was rare enough to be alarming.
She looked down and recognized the pattern engraved on the front. It was the Hidden Flame mark she had. Different from Dexmon's and Elara's.
Suddenly, her Hidden Flame mark and the book flared hot, matching temperatures.
Whispers started, speaking in Draken-Vorah. She recognized the phrase immediately and her eyes widened in disbelief.
She'd heard it many times, but only spoken by her mother. Something she would pass to her daughter. A family secret on the maternal side. Something this book shouldn't know.
Unbeknownst to her, everyone could hear the whispers, channeled through her mark.
"I am a son born in the west. A warrior blessed by the Gods to protect the chosen one. Bound by blood, passed down through generations of watched nights. Flame as my claim."
She glanced up at Hyran, eyes wide. What the fuck?
He gave no reaction.
The answer was a phrase she'd known her whole life but had never spoken in Draken-Vorah until now.
Eyes still green, still herself, she drew in a breath and spoke.
"I am a daughter born in the east. Known by the Gods and seen as one of their own. Watched by three, blessed by two, and carved in the image of one. I am the flame."
One lock clicked open.
The book was testing her. Almost like it was bloodline verification through secrets only she could know.
It shifted to ice-cold, and with it, her Hidden Flame mark.
The whispers continued.
"I am a warrior, a brother hidden in a flame, sworn to protect the chosen. A moon blood carved in the image of one. Flame bound, frost born."
She blinked, shocked.
This was a very specific phrase from the Frostbound Accord. Frostborne's equivalent to the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame.
How? How did this book know?
Serena responded in Draken-Vorah.
"I am the Axis to frost and Draken Prime to flame. A moon-blood, mortal-born. Bound for the gods, two thrones, one reign."
The second lock clicked open and the temperature went back to normal.
Two locks. Two tests. The book had cross-referenced her entire lineage.
Her mother wasn't a member of the Frostbound Accord. And her mother had taught her the first phrase.
The second phrase was one she knew from being the Axis of the Frostbound Accord.
The book hummed in her hands.
The room ceased to exist. There was only the book.
Her eyes shifted from green to gold as she read, pages turning at alpha speed.
Gasps echoed through the chamber. Elara laughed darkly in amusement.
A mage-librarian whispered, "See? I told you she does that."
"I didn't believe you," another muttered back.
Serena was too absorbed to notice. Wheels turning. Epiphanies stacking.
Her breath caught. The pieces clicked into place, one after another, until the weight of it crushed her.
She finished the entire book in about thirty seconds and looked up to meet Hyran's eyes. He stood with his arms crossed and a look of "I told you so" written all over his face.
She knew that look well.
Only then did she notice everyone in the room watching her. Their faces were all over the place. Elara had a smirk similar to Hyran's, but the majority were in utter shock.
Gav and Dex both looked alarmed. But not because she was the chosen one. No, they had guessed that days ago.
They looked alarmed because she had just read a book like a possessed marionette doll having a seizure.
"That's new," Gav muttered, voice strained.
"You get used to it." Elara sighed.
"I don't think I will." Gav shook his head.
King Tiberon looked like a man who had just watched a prophecy unfold in real time.
He spoke after a moment, breaking the silence with quiet certainty.
"I believe we've just found the Draken Prime."