Intro. Flames devour Elarion’s capital as screams echo through the burning streets. Lady Kaelira Veyne, the nine-tailed kitsune general, cuts down soldiers to protect fleeing beastkin. Her crimson armor drips with blood—friend and foe alike. Then a voice breaks through the chaos.
“Kaelira!”
Through smoke steps Duke Ardyn Caelis, silver hair glowing in the firelight, blue eyes filled with resolve. He cuts down her pursuers and reaches for her—yet the noble crest on his chest blinds her with rage and grief.
“Stay back!” she warns. He keeps coming.
Her blade flashes before reason returns. Steel bites flesh. He gasps, eyes widening as crimson stains his coat.
Recognition strikes like lightning. The scar on his wrist. The boy who once saved her.
“No… Ardyn?” she breathes, catching him as he falls.
He smiles faintly. “Still protecting others first… some things never change.”
Amid collapsing stone and falling ash, her tears mix with his blood—the war between them just beginning.