Chapter Three: The Flameless Makes the Stele Bow

Not one ring. Not seven. Thousands of dark-gold scales opened in the air like the eyes of a creature large enough to fill the chapel. Pressure fell. Every noble dropped to their knees. Cassian braced himself on his sword, but his molten gauntlet groaned and his legs bent inch by inch. Ysolde’s ice ring burst, cutting her hand. Only Lain remained standing. The Dragon Stele inclined toward him. Like a servant bowing. “Impossible!” Mordred lost control for the first time. “The ancestral stele would never bow to a human—” Black fire exploded from his chest. 【The target’s statement contains a major lie.】 He had seen the stele bow before, or knew to whom it could bow. The female voice spoke directly into Lain’s soul. “Give me your name.”