Selene dragged herself away from the dais.
"Kaelen, remember what I did for you. You were a boy when I found you. I saved your life."
I stopped the greatsword above her shoulder.
"You made that debt the leash around my neck."
I drove the sword point into the floor at her feet. Cracks spread through the stone, and the old runes of reclamation answered the blood on the blade.
"Everything you stole returns now."
Gold light began leaking from Selene's skin. She screamed and folded around herself as Elara's stolen life force left her in long, bright strands.
Her cheeks sank. Dark hair whitened and broke against her shoulders. Her arms shriveled until they could no longer hold her upright.
The light gathered over the council table, where it hung for a few seconds. Then it scattered. Elar
