Chapter 28: The Breaking Point
Kael pov
I returned to the chamber alone.
Dawn had barely begun to bleed through the eastern sky, the fortress still wrapped in that quiet hour before servants woke and guards changed posts.
No one saw me slip behind the tapestry. No one followed when I stepped onto the narrow stone staircase hidden behind it.
The air grew colder as I descended.
The blue flames along the wall ignited one after another the moment my boots touched the lower steps. They always did that. I didn't know how. Some ancient magic tied to the place itself.
By the time I reached the bottom, the chamber was already lit.
She was waiting.
Exactly where I had left her the last time.
The woman sat in the center of the chamber with the same strange stillness that made it impossible to guess her age.
Chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles, silver links sunk into the stone floor. Her white gown spilled around her feet like quiet water. Her eyes were open.
Watching me.
