The fires had died, but the smoke still lingered.
Kaelen sat in the high tower overlooking the Eastern Gate, now battered and hastily patched with scorched wood and iron braces. His tunic was stiff with dried blood—not all of it his—and the Midnight Blade rested beside him, silent now. Dormant. As if sleeping, just like the city it had protected.
He hadn't spoken since the battle. Not to Lord Dorian. Not to Elandor. Not even to himself.
Because something had changed.
The moment the shadebinder locked eyes with him, he had felt it. Not fear—but recognition. That look wasn't aimed at just Kaelen of House Ardyn, the dutiful heir, the sword-bearer.
It was meant for someone else.
Someone Ravener already knew.
The door creaked open behind him. Footsteps followed, slow and deliberate. Lord Dorian appeared in the doorway, his left arm bandaged, soot across his face, eyes rimmed in fatigue.
"You did what I asked," he said quietly. "You didn't let the sword fall."
Kaelen didn't turn. "They were looking for me."
"Yes."
"And they called me 'heir.'" Kaelen's voice trembled at the edge. "But not of House Ardyn."
Dorian stepped forward, his jaw tight. "No. Not of Ardyn."
Kaelen finally looked at him. "Then tell me. If I'm not your son, then who am I?"
There was a long silence. One that seemed to stretch across generations.
"You were born Kaelen Ardyn," Dorian said. "But that name was given to you the night we brought you here. The night we stole you from the fire."
Kaelen's heart beat like a war drum.
"You are not of my blood, Kaelen. You are of hers—Serenya Valebright. Queen of the lost Kingdom of Myre."
The room tilted. Kaelen's breath caught.
"Valebright?" he whispered.
Dorian nodded grimly. "The last of her line. Hunted by Ravener. Your kingdom burned in the war you were too young to remember. Your true name… is Kaelen Valebright."
The tower felt colder.
"I raised you as my own," Dorian continued. "To protect you. To keep you hidden until the time came. But the sword awakened. And now, so has your legacy."
Kaelen's mind reeled with images—visions from dreams he'd once dismissed. A woman's voice singing to him. A tall throne room wrapped in gold. A scream in the dark. A cradle set against flames.
Two names. Two worlds. And now, one choice.
"I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore," Kaelen whispered.
Dorian crouched beside him. "You are both. My son by choice. Myre's heir by blood. The sword chose you not for your name, but for your heart. That... hasn't changed."
Kaelen's hands trembled as he reached for the Midnight Blade. The metal shimmered faintly as if recognizing the truth.
A knock came at the tower door. Elandor again, this time quieter, almost hesitant. "My Lord... there's someone asking for the boy."
Dorian rose. "Who?"
Elandor hesitated. "She says she's a friend of his mother. She crossed the mountains. Alone. Claims to be from Myre."
Kaelen stood slowly, the weight of the blade across his back like the pressure of memory made steel.
"Let her in."
Down in the castle's war room, the woman waited by the fire. She was cloaked in grey, her face marked with old battle scars and eyes that burned with defiance.
"You wear her face," she said when she saw Kaelen. "And carry her fire. Serenya would be proud."
Kaelen didn't know what to say.
The woman stepped forward. "My name is Elira. Shieldmaiden of Myre. I fought beside your mother until her last breath. And I swore I would find you."
She unrolled a scroll marked with the sigil of a phoenix rising from ash.
"This is your birthright. And your burden. Myre still lives in rebellion, hidden in the north. If you come with me... you can reclaim what was stolen. But not as Kaelen Ardyn."
She bowed.
"We need Kaelen Valebright. The boy with two names. The heir of the phoenix."
Kaelen looked between her, Dorian, and the map of kingdoms now bathed in blood and shadow.
The blade hummed at his side again.
And Kaelen made his choice.
"I'll come," he said. "Not because of the blood in my veins—but because of the fire in my heart."
He was ready.
Because now, he knew who he was.
And the world would soon know it too.