The severest challenge Alexi has yet to face is the trial of light versus darkness. It is a known fact that war turns boys into men, men into warriors, and warriors into heroes. So what does that do to an adolescent girl? To achieve the power to overcome evil, Alexi must strengthen her resolve and forbid emotions to dictate her actions. By becoming the ring's bearer, she completed the test of fire, yet a battlefield is no place for an innocent.
Covered in blood and gore, Alexi stood alone on the battlefield as the tide swept Dexter and his men away. Yet the warrior who dwells within her yanked her life spark from her body and fought in her stead.
When the battle ends, he returns her consciousness, and she's horrified to witness the dead and dying piled at her feet. After realizing their blood covered her body, bile rose and her mind went dark as Belowyn's voice whispered.
Now thou hast solved the riddle of steel.