Back in the royal bedchambers, Chris suddenly gasped, clutching his left eye as a sharp, agonizing spike of cold shot through his skull."Chris!" Marcell lunged forward, grabbing his nephew's shoulders. "What is it? Is it another premonition?""The border..." Chris choked out, his vision swimming with images of a dark vapor and crumbling ash. "The scouts are gone. And a man... a man named Malakai just crossed the rim. He serves someone named Valakor."Sarata's breath hitched in her throat, her seductive confidence completely shattering. She fell back a step, her eyes wide with a genuine terror Chris had not seen in her before. "Valakor... the Undying Lord? The original occupant who was banished to the Ashen Realm before the human calendar was even written? It's impossible. The wards should have held.""The wards didn't even slow him down," Chris said, forcing himself to stand up, pushing Marcell's hands away. The panic that had defined his morning was gone, replaced by the very same hollow, absolute stillness he had felt in his dream. The king was awakening, and the boy was fading.The heavy wooden doors of the bedchamber burst open, and General Duwall stood there, his crimson and gold armor clattering as he breathed heavily. "Sire! We've lost communication with the northern border post. Three scouts failed to report, and the scrying mirrors have gone dark."Duwall looked from Marcell to Sarata, then finally fell to one knee before Chris, his head bowed in absolute submission. "We await your orders, Your Majesty."Chris looked at his uncle, whose eyes pleaded for him to run, to protect his youth, to choose safety. Then he looked at Sarata, who watched him like a scholar watching an experiment. Finally, Chris looked at his own hands. They were clean, but he knew what they were capable of now."General Duwall," Chris commanded, his voice dropping into a regal, commanding baritone that made the room go perfectly quiet. "Assemble the crimson vanguard at the lower gates. If this Malakai wants a throne of ashes, we will make him burn for it first."