Morning came quietly to House Valen. The first rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains and touched the wooden floor.
Rin had barely slept. He had remained awake for most of the night, sitting beside the dying candle and thinking about everything Aelion had told him.
He was in the past. He was Aelion and Eryndor was still here.
That fact alone made his heart feel unbearably heavy. Rin had spent so long searching for the beginning of Kaelith's story.
Now that he was finally standing at its beginning, he didn't know what to do with himself.
Aelion's warning continued to echo inside his mind.
You cannot change the past.
Rin had refused to accept it. But now that morning had arrived, doubt began creeping into his thoughts.
What if Aelion was right? What if every choice Rin made had already happened? What if even his attempt to save Eryndor was part of the tragedy?
Rin slowly stood from the wooden chair. He walked toward the mirror.
