"You haven’t said anything since we left."
Ryvarn’s voice was quiet, but it filled the chamber like a ripple through still water. I stood by the window, my fingers wrapped around the silver locket so tightly I half-expected it to crack.
"I’m thinking," I said. I was unable to find a way to reach my mother's real side. I didn't know what to say or do.
He didn’t push. He never did.
The chamber was warm, the fire low and steady in the hearth. Safe. Safer than the council room. Safer than being alone. But the silence between us wasn’t empty. It held memories, lies, and the soft echo of my mother’s voice in that vision.
"He said I wasn’t forgotten," I murmured. "That I was hidden. Protected. But it all sounds like an excuse."
Ryvarn walked over and sat on the edge of the couch. "He’s a ki
