The moment the palace shook again, it didn’t feel like an attack anymore.
It felt like reality was cracking open.
Stone above us split cleanly down the middle, dust pouring through like rain. Warriors shouted in the distance, but their voices sounded far away—like I was hearing them through water.
Kael grabbed my wrist instantly.
Not gently this time.
Firm.
Urgent.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
But I didn’t move.
Because something inside me was listening to the cracks.
Not fearfully.
Familiar.
The silver-eyed man stepped closer, unaffected by the chaos.
“It has begun,” he said simply.
Malachai appeared behind the broken pillars, eyes narrowed.
“Begun?” he echoed. “You call this begun?”
A low laugh escaped him, but there was no humor in it anymore.
“This is the collapse stage.”
