Shadows of light

en, not a gift. And

nce-low and resonant-echoing through the vast mar

r eyes before t

ms resting on her thighs, her silver-white robes fluttering ligh

cross the chamber's mosaic floor

haled

breath

dream

t three nig

reached for his. She'd screamed-but no sound had left her lips. And always, always-his

didn't kno

ow if he

want hi

basin that rested against the far wall. The water inside was still, smo

d her sharp features like a crown of flame. And eyes like no

ated

been chosen long ago. That she was the bridge between the divine and the dying. B

os

o

d been

ince the

No siblings.

. Meditation. C

l surname. Just "Liora of th

... the

ed. Nothing like the men of the temple. Yet in the dr

h

did i

gh stained-glass windows of ancient heroes. Red and orange danced across her ro

re robes the color of storm clouds and carried a staff that shimmered faintly w

Seris said wi

n't flinc

has ap

he

wlands. The moun

closer, heart

it's

The Balance stirs again. We

bears

ed. The mark only just emerged. But the vision came to more than

d, though she alrea

first of us. If this boy is to be trus

her eyes. "Th

only a slender silver blade and the pendant of the Lightbound-a

te, pawing at the ground impatiently. L

d take three days,

meet the boy f

out if fate had bet

rs of Solara glowing against the

e turne

heavy over

ked elm, far from the main roa

e, her blade across her lap, her fingers

er. Like someone's soul was tethered to hers. It frighte

red...

ot

ach

warriors. And she had b

his eyes h

from t

scowled. She didn't even know him. W

beneath her skin, pulse i

toward a stream trickling nearby. She splashed cold wat

lection stared back at her-and

was

from t

a

the name yet.