"Not all ghosts linger to be mourned. Some return to haunt you with purpose."
The cryptic letter sat on the table between us, its wax seal broken, its message carved into my memory. The words weren’t just a threat—they were a challenge. A name long buried had resurfaced, and with it, a tide of memories I’d rather have left in the dark.
“You knew him?” Asher’s voice was sharp, his eyes narrowing as they searched mine.
I nodded, my fingers tightening around the edge of the table. “Not personally. But I know of him—Aeron. He was part of my mother’s stories, a figure whispered about in the shadows of my childhood. A sorcerer who betrayed his own kind to seek power beyond reason.”
“Why would he come back now?” Asher asked, leaning forward, his hands braced on the table. The tension in his s
