"Your Majesty," Lord Manuel began solemnly, "we were utterly stunned when we rose from our long slumber—just as Tenebrae itself emerged from the depths. Yet what shook us more was discovering that Your Majesty still lay bound in sleep."
"But Lady Helena, the wisest among us, discerned the truth. The spell cast upon you by Lady Aurora was far mightier than the one she used to bury Tenebrae… and even stronger than the tethering spell we ourselves had invoked to share your fate.
"We came to understand that to awaken you, it would require a force greater than the life essence of King Cassius Tenebris… greater still than that of the First Ones. No—what was needed was the blood of someone whose power rivaled yours or that of Queen Aurora."
"And so, we reasoned: whoever had the strength to sla
