Eclipse of Shattered Throne

The scent of spiced tea and burning parchment filled the air as Payune sharpened her sword. The rhythmic scrape of stone against steel was the only sound in the Shattered Pavilion's dimly lit training hall. Outside, the crimson moon hung low over the Ashen Wastes, casting long shadows across the floor.

Hayuni leaned against the doorway, a half-peeled apple in one hand. "You've polished that blade three times today," she observed, taking a lazy bite. "What's next? Giving it a bath? A bedtime story?"

Payune didn't look up. "You should be preparing too."

Hayuni rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because preparing has served us so well in the past." She tossed the apple core aside and sauntered forward, her foxfire charms tinkling softly. "Tell me, little dragon, when has Father ever let preparation save us?"

Payune's grip tightened on Dragonrend. The blade hummed faintly, its whispers just beneath her skin.

Hayuni sighed dramatically. "Fine. If you're going to be dull, at least drink with me." She pulled a flask from her sash and took a long swig before offering it. "Stolen from the Silent Crow's private stash. Aged in the tears of his enemies, or so they say."

Payune hesitated, then snatched the flask. The liquor burned going down, but she refused to cough.

Hayuni grinned. "There. Now we're both doomed."

Dawn arrived too soon.

The carriage that waited for them was a hulking thing of black iron and bone, its wheels rimmed with spikes.

Four warriors from House Veyth stood harnessed to it, their mouths sewn shut with silver thread.

Payune's stomach turned. "This is—"

"—traditional," Hayuni finished, stepping forward without hesitation. She patted one slave's cheek, her fingers lingering on his stitches. "Do try not to die before we arrive," she murmured, as if offering comfort.

The man didn't react.

Payune followed, her jaw clenched. Inside, the carriage smelled of old blood and something sweetly rotten. Hayuni stretched across the seat, already looking bored.

"Seven days of this," she sighed. "I'd rather be stabbed."

Payune stared out the window as the dead landscape rolled by. "You're impossible."

Hayuni's smirk was razor-thin. "And you're predictable."

The wheels creaked. The slaves strained.

And the tournament drew closer.

The carriage wheels groaned as they rolled through the Ashen Wastes, the rhythmic creaking filling the tense silence between the sisters. Hayuni had produced a deck of cards from somewhere in her robes and was now dealing them out across the small bench between them.

"Five-card draw," she declared. "Loser takes first watch tonight."

Payune eyed the faded illustrations not standard suits, but the four Great Houses: swords, scales, chains, and flames. "Where did you get these?"

"Stole them from Father's collection when I was twelve." Hayuni's smirk turned wicked. "He never noticed."

The fox spirit chittered from her shoulder, clearly amused. Payune reluctantly picked up her hand three flames, two swords. Not terrible.

"You're cheating," Payune accused as Hayuni laid down a perfect sequence.

"Obviously." Hayuni gathered the cards with a flourish. "But you're still playing. That's what matters."

Outside, the landscape shifted. The dead trees gave way to towering basalt pillars, their surfaces carved with faces frozen in silent screams. The carriage slowed.

Payune tensed, her hand going to Dragonrend. The blade vibrated ominously.

Hayuni didn't look up from shuffling. "Relax. Just the Sentinels' Pass. They're statues, little dragon. Not actually screaming."

But as they passed the nearest pillar, Payune could swear the stone lips moved.

The fox spirit's ears flattened. Hayuni's hands stilled for just a moment before resuming their rhythmic shuffling. "Tell me," she said too casually, "has your sword been whispering more than usual?"

Payune stiffened. "What do you know?"

"More than you, apparently." Hayuni dealt another hand. "Four days ago, it started humming when the moon was high. Three days ago, it burned your palm when you tried to sleep. Yesterday..." She flipped a card the Tower, inverted. "Yesterday it spoke to you in Mother's voice."

The carriage hit a rut, sending the cards flying. Payune's breath came short. "How could you possibly "

A thunderous crack cut her off. One of the basalt pillars had split open, revealing a yawning darkness within. From it poured a swarm of—