The words echoed through the camp like a death sentence.
"It's open."
Open.
Not weakening.
Not cracking.
Not close to opening.
Open.
Elira couldn't breathe.
Around her, the camp had gone completely silent.
Thousands of soldiers stood frozen.
The wind whispered through the trees.
A horse shifted nervously nearby.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Because everyone understood.
Whatever the first kings had sacrificed to imprison...
Whatever generations of Ashbourne rulers had protected against...
It was free.
King Aldric slowly stepped toward the scout.
His face had become unreadable.
The look of a king preparing for bad news.
"What did you see?"
The scout swallowed.
Hard.
His hands trembled.
"I don't know what it was."
Fear tightened Elira's stomach.
The scout looked like
