CHAPTER 64:
The fire in the hearth had burned down to glowing embers, casting long, wavering shadows across the stone walls. Elowen’s words hung in the air, heavy and cold, settling deep in my bones. The Twin Crown — the thing we’d carried, the symbol of our hope, the core of our strength — might not be our weapon. It might be the lock that opened the door to his full power.
I sank into the nearest chair, my hands trembling as I pressed them to my face. “All this time… we thought it was the answer. What if it’s the trap?”
Kael stepped forward, his voice low but steady. “We don’t know that. Valerius was afraid of many things. He could have been wrong. Or lying. Or twisting the truth to serve his own ends.”
“Or he was telling the one truth that mattered,” I said, lifting my head. “That e
