The Citadel's halls were quiet in the aftermath of the battle.
Seraphina walked through corridors that had seen bloodshed just hours before, her steps echoing in the silence. Servants moved through the passages, cleaning and repairing, their faces drawn with exhaustion and grief. The Ash Covenant had been repelled, but the cost had been high—dozens of Dragon Lords lay dead, and more than one dragon would never fly again.
Pyre walked beside her, the dragon's presence a comfort against the darkness that threatened to overwhelm. Through the bond, Seraphina could feel Pyre's exhaustion, her grief for fallen kin, but also her determination. They had survived. That was what mattered.
The Queen had summoned them to the Court of Dragons—not for a formal audience, but for a council of war. When Seraphina entered the terrace, she found it transformed. Maps covered the tables, and senior Dragon Lords clustered in groups, their voices low and urgent.
The Queen stood at the center, her black dragon coiled behind her like a living shadow. Her face was pale, but her eyes burned with fierce determination.
"Lord Ashford is dead," she said without preamble. "But before he died, he opened a breach. A small one, but significant." Her gaze swept the assembled Dragon Lords. "The Conjunction is still months away, but the barrier is already weakening. We must prepare for the possibility that the Voidwalkers will attempt to enter before the appointed time."
"How is that possible?" one of the Dragon Lords asked. "The barrier was designed to hold until the Conjunction."
"The barrier was designed three hundred years ago. Times have changed. Powers have shifted." The Queen's voice was grim. "And the Ash Covenant has been working to undermine our defenses for decades. Tonight's attack was not their first—it was simply their most brazen."
"What do we do?" another Dragon Lord asked.
"We prepare. We strengthen the barriers where we can. And we accelerate the Dragonbound's training." The Queen's gaze fixed on Seraphina. "You showed remarkable courage tonight. You closed the breach without hesitation, knowing it would cost you."
"It was necessary," Seraphina said simply.
"It was. And it will be necessary again, many times before this is over." The Queen moved toward her, and the assembled Dragon Lords parted to let her pass. "I have been watching you, Seraphina Vale. You have grown stronger than I expected. But you will need to be stronger still."
"I know."
"The Conjunction approaches faster than we anticipated. The stars are aligning in ways our astronomers did not predict." The Queen's voice dropped, pitched for Seraphina's ears alone. "You have perhaps six months. Maybe less."
Six months. Seraphina had thought she had nine months—a luxury of time to prepare for what was coming. Now that time had been cut by a third.
"I'll be ready," she said.
"You'd better be." The Queen straightened, her voice rising to carry to the entire terrace. "The Ash Covenant is wounded, but not destroyed. They will regroup, and they will try again. We must be vigilant, we must be united, and we must be ready for anything." She turned to face the assembled Dragon Lords. "Go to your posts. Tend to your wounded. And prepare for war."
The council dispersed, leaving Seraphina alone with Kestrel and Pyre. Kestrel looked as exhausted as she felt, his face drawn, his clothing still stained with blood from the battle.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm alive. That's more than some can say." Seraphina shook her head. "I didn't expect it to be like this. The blood, the death..."
"War is never clean." Kestrel's voice was quiet. "It never has been."
"How do you bear it? The killing, the loss?"
"By remembering what we're fighting for." He gestured to the Citadel around them. "This place, these people, the world beyond these walls. The Ash Covenant believes that destruction is the path to renewal. We believe that some things are worth preserving."
"And if we're wrong?"
"Then we die, and history judges us as fools." He smiled faintly. "But at least we'll die fighting for something we believe in."
Seraphina thought about that as she made her way back to the hidden chamber. The battle was over, but the war had just begun. And somewhere, in the darkness beyond the barrier, the Voidwalkers were waiting.
She had six months to prepare. Six months to become strong enough to face an enemy that had nearly destroyed the world three hundred years ago.
It wasn't enough time. It would never be enough time.
But it was what she had. And she would make it count.
The next weeks were a blur of training and preparation. The Citadel was fortified, the defenses strengthened, and patrols were doubled. Seraphina continued her lessons with Kestrel, but now they focused more on practical skills—combat, dragon riding, the use of dragon fire as a weapon.
She grew stronger. Faster. More deadly. The mark on her wrist pulsed with power that grew steadier each day, and her connection to Pyre deepened until she could barely tell where her thoughts ended and the dragon's began.
And through it all, the countdown continued. Six months became five. Five became four. The stars continued their alignment, and the barrier continued to weaken.
The Voidwalkers were coming. And Seraphina would be ready.