Page 62 of Beyond the Treaty
Darius’s path led him deep into the Ashen Wilds, where the air was thick with the scent of damp earth, and the howls of unseen predators echoed in the distance. The Lycans did not take kindly to trespassers, and it was not long before he found himself surrounded by towering warriors, their golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “State your purpose,” growled the largest among them, his great-
axe resting heavily on his shoulder.
Darius met his gaze without flinching. “We need warriors. And I
hear you value strength more than all else.”
A rumble of laughter spread through the pack, dark and amused.
“And you think you’re strong enough to earn our allegiance?” Without hesitation, Darius dropped his weapons and raised his
fists. “Try me.”
What followed was a brutal, merciless test of endurance and skill.
The Lycans did not hold back, and neither did he. Bloodied and battered, Darius stood his ground until the pack leader finally called for a halt.
“You fight like a wolf,” he admitted, eyes gleaming with newfound respect. “Very well. We will lend our claws to your war.”
My own path took me into the Silver Glades, where the very air shimmered with illusion and whispers of unseen figures curled around my ears. The Nightborne Fae were tricksters, masters of deception, and they did not make deals lightly.
A figure emerged from the shadows, her silverhair flowing like mist, violet eyes watching me with eerie intensity. “Oh look, the Queen of Lunairis dares to step into our domain,” she mused.
“Why?”
“I bring an offer,” I said, meeting her gaze. “War is coming, and I
know you crave chaos. Fight with us, and you’ll have a battlefield drenched in moonlight and blood.”
She smiled, slow and knowing. “And what will you give us in return?”
I knew better than to offer them gold or power, they had no use for such things. Instead, I reached into my satchel and pulled out a vial of starlit essence, one of the rarest magical artifacts in existence.
Her eyes gleamed. “Interesting.”
A hush fell over the Glades as the Fae deliberated. Then, finally, the silver-haired woman stepped forward. “We accept. But remember your majesty, our allegiance is fleeting. If you bore us, we will leave.”
It was a risk I was willing to take.
Azrael’s path led him to the Ruined Sanctum, a place of death and lingering vengeance. The Revenant Knights did not welcome the living, and their silent, hollow gazes bore into him as he stood before their captain.
“We do not fight for the living,” the skeletal figure intoned. “Only for vengeance.”
Azrael met his gaze, voice low and unyielding. “Then I bring you the greatest vengeance of all. Those who defile your lands, who have twisted death into something unnatural, they stand against us. Help us, and you will have your justice.”
A long silence stretched between them before the captain lifted his cursed sword. “Then let this war be one of reckoning.”
Finding Bastian was my most personal mission, and as I flew into Lunairis, my heart pounded with uncertainty. The realm had not yet fallen to the darkness, but shadows lurked at its edges. I found him in the training yard, his sword flashing under the sun, his movements as sharp and precise as I remembered.
When he turned and saw me, relief and something deeper flickered in hiseyes. “Elara.”
“You’re still here,” I breathed, unable to hide my relief. “Still yourself.”
His expression darkened. “For now. But the shadows grow bolder. Tell me why you’ve come.”
I told him everything, the war, the allies we had gathered, and the battle yet to come. He listened without interruption, his grip on his sword tightening.
When I finished, he nodded once. “Then I will fight by your side, as I always have.”
