Maybe someday she’d forgive him. Maybe someday they would be together again. But the more years that passed, the more he understood it would never be.

Overhead, ribbons of light rippled in the sky—blue, red, violet. Rion wasn’t a sentimental man by any measure, but something about the sight never failed to move him. In spite of everything, this magic and these lights were part of him, part of his soul, and what made him tick.

After stealing out of the Keep, he emerged from the tree line into a large clearing at the base of a mountain. A twitch tugged at the corner of his mouth. Despite the strength of his Aurora magic, it still wasn’t enough. He recalled those helpless years when he’d been powerless, like a piece of himself had been carved away.

He had read the anguish in Herric’s journals about his desire to create power beyond what the Empyrium had given him. Rion, too, wanted more, but he vowed not to make the same mistakes as the previous Aurora King.

He hadn’t heard the voice in the Torch since he’d forced his father to descend, and there were moments when Rion wondered if he’d imagined the entire thing.

Checking behind him, Rion ducked out of the trees and crossed the clearing. Not that anyone would be following him—he’d found a way to conceal himself using the magic of virulence, making himself invisible to anyone until he was right upon them. It was an added layer of precaution he used on these late-night crusades. He’d discovered the ability before the First Sercen war and used it to conceal his army when he’d snuck up on Serce so many years ago.

Lately, he’d been experimenting with the idea of infusing magic into the rock so that he could impart the abilities of virulence onto others. Such as his soldiers if he needed them to complete tasks when not in his presence. This was proving difficult so far, and he hadn’t yet figured it out. Tonight, he had other plans.

He approached the mountain and laid his hand on the cold surface, channeling out a thread of magic. The mountain shifted, revealing a door and then a staircase carved into the stone winding into the depths.

After they’d uncovered the virulence, Rion had commissioned a small group of low fae to work on a secret chamber where he could experiment without prying eyes. Now he came here regularly to discover what new wonders waited if he could just unlock them from the sparkling black stone.

He wound down the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the silent chamber. It was dark, but he felt his way down until he was deep enough to cast a light to illuminate his descent. The glowing yellow orb hovered overhead as he wound further down the stairs.