Chapter 1

Eve Salazar tilted her head back until her neck screamed in protest. The Holy Stairs of Azure Zenith carved a jagged scar into the sky, a thousand steps of white stone leading up to the Order's sanctuary. At the very top, catching the harsh afternoon sun, her sword "Rebellion" stood upright, embedded in the stone. It looked like a middle finger raised toward her current misery.

She couldn't feel the Aether anymore. The golden thread that used to sing in her veins was cut, leaving behind a hollow, ringing void in her chest. She was just a mortal now, standing at the bottom of a mountain that actively wanted her dead.

"Look, it's the fallen genius," someone whispered to her left.

A cluster of pilgrims and servants had gathered, their eyes darting over her ragged cloak and bruised arms. They didn't see a Paladin. They saw a circus act.

Eve ignored them. She drew in a breath that tasted like dust and failure, and slammed her right foot onto the first step.

An invisible wall of force slammed into her chest. It felt like being hit by a charging horse. The holy pressure repelled her, shoving her backward. Her boots scraped against the dirt, trying to find purchase, but the force was absolute. She stumbled, her knees hitting the gravel hard. A sharp sting bloomed on her skin as tiny rocks bit into her flesh.

A snicker rippled through the crowd. Then another.

Heat rushed up Eve's neck, burning her cheeks. She gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached. She pushed herself up, her thighs trembling with the effort, and lunged forward again. One step. Two. Three.

The repulsion hit her like a physical blow to the sternum. It lifted her off her feet and tossed her backward. She crashed onto the stone plaza, the impact driving the air from her lungs. Her elbow split open, and warm blood immediately welled up, dripping onto the pristine white stone. The copper smell filled her nostrils.

"Pathetic," a servant murmured.

Eve gasped, trying to pull air back into her spasming lungs. She forced herself onto her hands and knees. The face of Grand Master Bernardo Rowe flashed in her mind-those cold, calculating eyes staring down at her from the judgment seat, declaring her exiled. She had been the youngest Paladin in history. She had channeled the Aether like it was an extension of her own heartbeat.

Now, her heartbeat was just a weak, fleshy thing, pounding in her ears.

She staggered upright. She had to get her sword. If she didn't reclaim it before sunset, she wouldn't even be allowed to sleep in the ditches at the foot of the mountain. She charged again. Five steps. Eight. Ten. Each step felt like she was carrying a boulder on her shoulders. Her spine compressed, her bones groaning under the holy weight.

The runes on the steps flared a violent blue.

A tearing sensation ripped through her soul. It wasn't just physical pressure anymore; it was a rejection of her very existence. The force grabbed her and threw her down the stairs like a ragdoll. She hit the ground hard, her vision going black at the edges. She lay there, her chest heaving, tasting blood and dirt on her tongue. The humiliation was a thick, suffocating lump in her throat.

Through the haze of pain, a prickle on the back of her neck made her turn her head.

Tucked into the deep shadows of the fortress wall stood a man. He wore the burlap sack of a menial laborer, his frame impossibly large and still. Cato Sims. She had seen him around the fortress, a quiet shadow that swept floors and hauled water. He wasn't looking at the crowd. He wasn't looking at the sanctuary. He was staring directly at her.

His face was utterly blank. No pity. No mockery. Just a heavy, unreadable gaze that pinned her in place.

Eve frowned, blinking sweat out of her eyes. Was it an illusion? She tried to focus, but the pounding in her head made it hard. He didn't look away. He stood there like a statue carved from the mountain rock itself, watching her bleed with an intensity that felt like a physical touch.

A spike of irritation cut through her exhaustion. Who was he to stare at her like that? Like she was a specimen on a slab. She tried to glare him down, to warn him off, but his expression didn't flicker. He just kept looking.

Eve forced herself to stand, her legs shaking violently. She tore her gaze away from the silent laborer. It didn't matter who was watching. All that mattered was the sword at the top of the stairs. She looked at her hands, covered in grime and blood. Hands that used to summon light.

A fragmented memory surged up-the blinding snow of the Frostbound Abyss, the screams of her squad, the icy agony in her chest. She couldn't remember what she had done wrong, only the overwhelming sense of betrayal.

The rage ignited a fresh spark in her gut. She locked her eyes on the top of the stairs and prepared to run again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cato Sims shift slightly, his gaze still fixed on her, waiting.