Namiko’s POV
Stone walls pressed in, damp and ancient, sealing me in with nothing but stale air and the echo of my own thoughts. Days had blurred into nights, and the shadows whispered accusations I couldn’t try to even fight. I hadn’t seen a map. I had never touched a locket. But it didn’t matter, no one cared for the truth when it came from the mouth of someone like me.
A liar and a threat.
The guards came at dusk.
“His Majesty has granted your request,” one of them muttered, not looking at me. His nose wrinkled as if my presence offended him.
I stood on legs that barely remembered how to work. My wrists throbbed where the shackles had bruised them. My feet dragged as they led me through the stone corridors, up and up until the scent of ash, pine, and storm met me like a blow to the
