Three days. Three days of brittle silence in Silvermane Keep. The story, a masterwork of lies woven by the surviving Council elders, was that a cave-in during the attack had collapsed the dungeon and part of the undercroft, tragically killing Elder Cameron and grievously wounding the Alpha. The Shadow-Stalker was not mentioned. Prince Kaelen, ‘recovering from his ordeal,’ was kept in his chambers.
The truth was sealed in the mountain’s belly with the unconscious Oracle, a healing Theron, and the two people who had broken the world.
Elara moved through her days like a ghost. The absence of the bond was a phantom ache, a hollow space in her chest where a resonant hum had been. She would catch herself listening for his silent footsteps, feeling for his gaze, only to remember it was gone. He
