Chapter Three: The Flameless Makes the Stele Bow

The blood trial took place in the Ossuary Chapel beneath the palace. No windows pierced its walls, yet dark-red light moved across the vault. The spine of Astra, the first Dragon Emperor, ran through the palace and ended here in a twelve-foot slab of black bone. Every royal adult gave blood to this Dragon Stele and received the judgment of the ancestral soul. Cassian had kindled seven rings of flame. Ysolde had kindled six rings of frost. When twelve-year-old Lain touched it, nothing happened. From that day, “the Flameless” replaced his name in every joke in the capital. Six years later, the joke stood before them again. The palace had suppressed news of the Ashen Banquet, but every noble present knew Herbert was dead, Tarren imprisoned, and