Page 108 of Elemental Becoming

“Mirelle,” Rian continues smoothly, “I could use some help finding a gift for my mother. And I believe Lyra was interested in a scarf?”

Lyra immediately straightens. “The soft blue one with the silver fringe.”

Mirelle lights up. “Oh! Excellent choice!”

Just like that, the tension in the room eases. Somehow, Rian always knows how to pull people back from fear before it settles too deeply.

Rian turns to me. “Amara, why don’t you let Kieran and the others know we will be out shortly.”

I shoot him a grateful look, suddenly desperate for air after everything that just happened.

“Thank you, Mirelle. For everything.”

“Today is a blessed day. Today, I got to meet and assist theSpiritborn,” she replies, her eyes twinkling once more.

When I step outside, the sunlight feels too harsh after the dimness of the shop and I lift my hand to shield my eyes.

A shadow moves into my path. I lower my hand and find blue-silver eyes staring at me intently.

“What the fuck happened in there?” Kieran asks.

“Just give me a minute,” I mutter, before leaning back against the wall. “I’ll tell you everything.”

And I do.

Except that part about the Shadeheart possibly reaching for Thane. Kieran would have too many questions I cannot answer. Too many questions that could lead too close to the truth of Thane’s bloodline.

And no one can know that.

BARE

FOURTEEN

A tome arrived today from the Water Clan bearing grim revelations. A pattern is emerging within the Shadow Forces’ assaults. With each strike, they learn. They adapt their tactics, sharpen their cruelty, and return deadlier than before. We must stay ahead of their evolution, or at least, uncover some means to hinder it before their strength outpaces our own entirely. What troubles me most is not their ferocity, but the speed of their adaptation. How do they learn so quickly?

—VALEN’S JOURNAL

AMARA

Lyra walks beside me as we enter the Grand Ballroom.

“Gods, Amara,” she breathes, her voice low with awe. “This place isgorgeous.” Her eyes roam the soaring walls, the golden inlay, the sheer vastness of it all. “This is all Thane’s? You two aren’t married, but if you were . . . ”

I shoot her a pointed look sharp enough to draw blood.

She grins, utterly unbothered. “All right, all right—I’ll take that as a no.”

Ornate moldings and gilded mirrors line the walls, reflecting the golden light until the room seems to stretch endlessly outward. Tapestries depicting heroic figures and legendary battles hang between towering columns, while beneath my feet polished marble gleams with intricate patterns radiating from the center of the ballroom.

To go from Mirelle’s vision this afternoon to a ballroom glowing with music and candlelight feels surreal.

Only hours ago, Rian and I stood frozen in that tiny shop, staring into the face of the Shadeheart through Mirelle’s eyes.

And now I’m here. Dressed in silk. Dancing beneath chandeliers.

The shift between those moments feels almost impossible to reconcile.

Rian promised he would speak with Thane, that we would all address it tomorrow. Tonight, he insisted, we put a pause on the war, at least for a few hours.