The deeper interior.
Valeria proper.
The kingdom was beginning to understand.
And at last—it would have to answer.
--------
Far from the burning border cities, beneath stone older than any banner now flying above the war, Liora woke to pain.
Not gradually.
Not through the slow drift of ordinary consciousness.
Pain dragged her upward.
A violent current tore through her body. Her back arched hard against cold stone before her mind even understood it was awake. Breath ripped from her throat in a broken gasp. Her fingers clawed at the floor, but there was nothing to grip—only damp rock, slick with age and moisture.
Darkness rushed back in.
Not blindness.
A chamber.
Underground.
The air reeked of rust, wet stone, and something scorched. Her heart slammed against her ribs as awareness arrived in jagged pieces.
The second shock struck before thought could settle.
