Chapter 58:
THE GHOST OF WHO I WAS
I didn’t leave the archives for hours. Even after Ethan took my hand and led me out, my mind stayed behind trapped in the pages of that ancient book, in the face that looked like mine but wasn’t.
The First Keeper.
A woman who had wielded the Heart before anyone else. A woman who had faced the Forgotten One.
A woman who had died.
And somehow, I was her.
Ethan walked beside me in silence as we made our way back to our cabin. He hadn’t said much since we left the war room, but his grip on my hand was tight, like he was afraid I’d slip away if he let go.
When we stepped inside, the quiet was suffocating. The weight of everything I had just learned pressed down on me, and I could feel Ethan’s tension beside me.
Finally, he broke the s
