The eighth door exploded open.
The sound shook the underground kingdom, sending cracks racing across the silver floor. Black smoke poured through the doorway, twisting into the shapes of reaching hands before dissolving into nothing. The three thrones trembled, and the crooked silver crown on Lyra's head slipped slightly to one side.
Aliena instinctively pulled the little girl behind her.
Sebastian moved in front of them both, his black wings unfurling with a violent snap.
"Stay behind me," he ordered.
But Lyra wasn't looking at him.
She was staring at the doorway.
Someone was coming.
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Then Caelum stepped into the light.
He looked exactly like Sebastian, but where Sebastian's beauty could sometimes soften with warmth, Caelum's carried something merciless. His black hair fell carelessly across his forehead, and his eyes shone with an ancient darkness that seemed to recognize every secret buried within the kingdom.
