The journey back to the Obsidian Keep was a passage through silence. As the carriage crossed the threshold of the Whispering Woods, the trees themselves seemed to bow, their gnarled branches parting for the return of their Mistress.
When Regina stepped onto the black stone of the courtyard, the shadows did not just greet her; they exhaled a collective sigh of loyalty that rippled through the air. She acknowledged them with a short, regal nod and moved directly toward the inner sanctum of the fortress, her cloak sweeping the floor.
Azryth followed a half-step behind, his form flickering in the dim light of the soul-fire torches. They reached a secluded chamber at the top of the highest spire, where the air was warm and smelled of mountain lavender.
Inside, several low-level shadows were tending to a cradle carved from the same jagged obsidian as the Keep's foundation. They moved with a tenderness that defied their monstrous forms, rocking the bassinet with wisps of darkness.
Regina reached the cradle, her breath hitching for a fraction of a second. She reached down and picked up her child—her daughter.
The infant was a striking sight. She possessed a thick tuft of dark brown hair, a haunting legacy of the Emberclaw bloodline. But when she opened her eyes, there was no trace of the Empire. Her eyes were black as the Obsidian itself, deep pools of infinite night that seemed to see through the very fabric of reality.
Regina cradled the girl against her chest, her violet eyes softening with a rare, radiant warmth. "Thank you," she whispered to the shadows, who bowed their heads and melted into the corners of the room.
Azryth stood beside her, his gaze fixed on the infant. "This child was born within these walls, Mistress," he said, his voice a low, reverent rumble. "The Keep has recognized her. She already possesses a high affinity with the shadows—one that far exceeds your own at her age."
He leaned closer, the darkness of his form swirling. "She will be far more powerful in both mind and will than any who have come before. She is the living heart of this fortress."
Regina smiled softly, pressing her cheek against the child's forehead. "Then she shall have a name that reflects that power. You are Valerie," she murmured. "My strength. My future."
The moment of peace was shattered by a sudden, sharp shift in the Keep's energy. The stones beneath their feet groaned, and a scout shadow materialized in the center of the room, its form frantic.
"Mistress," the shadow hissed. "There is an intruder within the perimeter. He has breached the lower gates."
Regina's expression turned to stone instantly. "How many? Is it the Ironvein guard?"
"He is alone, Mistress," the shadow replied. "He bears no weapons. He came through the mist without a blade, yet the shadows could not deter him."
Regina carefully placed Valerie back into the cradle, the shadows instantly rising to form a protective canopy over the child. She adjusted her dark robes, the energy of the Eclipsereaver sparking at her fingertips as she prepared to destroy whoever had dared to violate her sanctuary.
She descended to the Great Hall, where the darkness was thick enough to suffocate a mortal man. In the center of the room, trapped in a cage of living shadows that snapped and snarled like wolves, stood the intruder.
Regina stepped out of the gloom, her violet eyes burning with a lethal light. But the moment she saw the man—his face weary, his clothes tattered, but his gaze steady and familiar—she froze.
The words of command died in her throat, and for the first time since she had walked away from the Empire, the Sovereign of Night felt the world tremble.