"Solenne was built on top of you?" Gad asked, the words not sounding right even as he said them. "My kingdom. My home. It was never just a kingdom?"
‘It was a cage first,’ the voice said, patiently despite its vastness. ‘A kingdom second. Your ancestors built walls and towers over what they could not destroy, hoping stone and centuries would be enough to forget what lay beneath.’
Bellan pressed a hand against the altar, steadying himself. "That's why the bloodline exists, It's not by chance. Gad's family was chosen specifically because they were already standing on this ground."
‘Chosen is generous,’ the voice said. ‘They had no more choice than the stone did. Someone needed to watch this place. Someone needed to bleed for it when the containment weakened. Your bloodline was assigned th
