Alison's POV
The air in Alpha Gaius’s office was heavy, the tension almost suffocating as we sat around the old oak table. The treaty lay before us, its parchment yellowed with age, the ink faded but legible. My fingers itched to touch the Crimson Dagger at my side, its weight both comforting and ominous. The secrets we had unearthed could either save us or doom us.
“Are we really sure about this?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended. “The treaty, the magic… it’s all just words until proven otherwise.”
“Darling, legends don’t survive this long without truth to sustain them,” my father said, his deep voice steady but with an edge of concern. “And now we have the proof.”
Simone sat opposite me, her sightless eyes directed slightly above my head. She held her staff with both hands,
