SAGE

Prince Valenf was the one who spoke first.

“How are you feeling now, Sage?”

His voice was calm, measured, carrying the quiet authority of someone who did not need to raise it to be obeyed.

I bowed low before him, instinctively, deeply—lower than I had bowed to anyone in years.

Power wrapped around him like a second skin, dense and ancient and unmistakable. It pressed against my senses, not aggressively, but with a presence that dared anything around it to forget who he was.

Prince of his people.

I found myself wondering how old he truly was. He looked no older than Darius—no older than a virile male in...