Chapter 96

Chapter 96 Seraphina's POV The ruins of Ashfold still smoldered by dawn. Ash drifted like snow through the cracked stone spires, and the taste of burned magic clung to the back of my throat. I sat beneath the shattered obelisk, Kaelos beside me, the silence between us heavier than words. We had closed the rift. Sealed the First Flame’s breach. But the Codex had shattered in my hands, and with it, I felt something inside me fracture—not break, but change. Like a new current winding through an old riverbed. Kaelos watched the horizon as the sun crested the jagged cliffs. "It won’t be the last time," he said quietly. I nodded. "No. But it bought us time." We waited until the reinforcements arrived. Callista was the first to find us, blood streaked across her brow, her bowstring still taut. Behind her came Ruvan, Esra, and warriors from the Vale and the Crescent Guard. When they saw the remnants of the summoning site, their faces turned grim. "The First Flame... you saw it?" Esra asked, vo