But then the memory hit me—Dalkhan’s face, cold and commanding on the ceremonial ground.His words echoing.‘It must be completed’.
The robed figures bowing.Promising, ‘Soon’.
That was all I had.No armies forming.No grand meetings.No declaration of war.
Just…soon.
The distant murmur of voices drifted toward us.
I shot my arms out to either side, palms connecting with Tavrik and Theo.They flinched backward, eyes wide.
I pressed a finger to my lips, then jerked my head toward the sound.
We moved as one shadow, feet finding the softest patches of earth.Bodies low as we slipped behind the massive trunk of an ancient tree.We were close enough to see the slight movement of figures through the gaps in the leaves, but far enough to remain hidden.
Then I heardhisvoice, and my chest exploded with warmth—a cruel mockery of affection that lasted exactly one heartbeat before his words destroyed everything.
“I will not wait any longer!”
“My king, we are working tirelessly.”The whisper cracked under the weight of his presence.
“SILENCE!”
Birds stopped mid-song.The wind died as if strangled.Even my own breathing seemed too loud.Too dangerous.
“You dare offer me excuses?You dare waste my time with yourpatheticattempts?”
Someone hit the ground, their knees striking earth in submission.
“My king, please—”
“Please?”Power exploded from him like a shockwave.“I have waited long enough.Now you grovel before me with empty promises and trembling hands?”
A suffocating silence followed.
“I amdonewith your failures,” he snapped.“I amdonewith delays.I am done withyou.Find a way to break it, or I will find someone else who can.And when I do, your deaths will be the first celebration of my victory.”
The realisation crashed into me like a landslide, burying every hope I’d dared to nurture.My knees buckled—tree bark scraping against my cheek as I sagged against it, vision blurring at the edges.
We retreated like ghosts, hearts pounding in our throats.Every twig that cracked beneath our feet echoed.Every breath too loud.
How could I even think about searching for the stone when my entire world had just crumbled to ash?
Only when we’d put enough distance between us and that terrible conversation did I dare turn toward Tavrik.My eyes pleaded with him.Begged him to tell me I’d misheard.That there was some other hidden truth in those words.
Each line of his face was etched with sorrow—the answer was written in the slump of his shoulders.In the way his hands hung limp at his sides.
“I’m sorry, Elira.I think the message was clear.”
I nodded, my neck straining as though it might snap.My heart wasn’t just broken, it was a gaping chasm.A void that threatened to swallow me whole.
Theo’s expression reflected my own devastation.
If this had to end soon, then I would steal every moment I could, even if each one would only become a blade twisted into my heart later.It would destroy me in the end, but part of me still believed in something beautiful.In something worth fighting for.I wasn’t ready to let go.
Not yet.
By the time we returned, the tables had been transformed into an opulent feast—silver platters overflowing with roasted meats that glistened under torchlight, delicate pastries dusted with fine sugar, and wine that shimmered like liquid rubies.The rich aromas were intoxicating, thick enough to taste.
