I was reborn

Previously

…Kael’s gaze shifted from the doppelganger Lyra to Valerius, then to the distressed Seraphina. The desert wind, which had seemed to hold its breath, now began to stir, carrying with it the venomous whisper of deception. He felt the earth beneath his feet tremble, not with his power, but with the weight of the lie that had been so expertly woven around him. He had come to save Seraphina, and in doing so, had walked directly into a carefully constructed web. The true enemy, he realized with a sickening certainty, was not just the tyrant before him, but the insidious rot of betrayal that had wormed its way into the very heart of his trust.