Old Demon, New Tricks

Daena exhaled slowly, focusing her gaze on the distant horizon, where jagged mountain peaks pierced the angry storm clouds overhead. Thunder growled softly, a distant warning as violet lightning flickered in intricate patterns across the sky. Even nature itself seemed wary of disturbing her.

She flexed her wings, their leather-like texture gleaming in the dim twilight. It had been years no, centuries since she'd last come here, to the mountains known only as the Spine of Shadows. A bleak place, savage and untamed, perfectly matching her current mood.

"Alright, old girl," Daena muttered, stretching her limbs with exaggerated care, "let's see if you're still terrifying, or if you've gone completely soft."

She snorted, amused by her own thoughts. The idea of being soft, after so long, was laughable yet somehow, she'd allowed herself to become exactly that. And now, because of it, Liria was gone.