He took me to the servants’ quarters.
Uther stood against the wall, arms crossed. At the table, Lioren waited with parchment and a quill. Elwen paced.
Kairos patted my shoulder. “Have a seat.”
I didn’t. “Why am I here?”
His amber stare pinned me. “Because we need to understand how your ability works.”
“I already know.”
His eyes narrowed. “Explain it to me.”
I shrugged. “I just…feel for the weak point and pull.”
Kairos stilled. “Feel for it?”
“Yeah, it’s like threads. I find where they’re thinnest and—” I made a pulling gesture. “They snap.”
His voice was dangerously quiet. “That’s all you know?”
“Yes.”
Lioren’s quill clattered. “You don’t trace anchor points?”
I frowned at him. “I don’t need to.”
Lioren gripped the table. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
“I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
“Runes aren’t simple magic.” Lioren jabbed the air with his finger. “They’re complex webs of power. Some are connected to other runes. Some draw from bloodstones. Some are anchored to living things. When you damage them, you’re severing connections you can’tsee.”
My stomach dropped.
Elwen stepped forward, her brows furrowed. “If you break the wrong rune, you could kill someone.”
“Or collapse an entire building,” Lioren added sharply.
“That’s why we’re doing this,” Kairos said quietly. “Before you accidentally destroy something that can’t be rebuilt.”
The room silenced.
“What do I get out of it?” I asked.
Kairos’s eyebrows rose. “What do you want?”
Asking for maps would be too obvious. Requesting time outside alone would raise suspicion. Information about portals would reveal exactly what I planned to do.
Privacy was reasonable. Expected, after everything I’d been through—Henrik forcing his way into my mind, the execution, being dragged across a realm. Anyone would want a space that was theirs. And in mine, I could hide supplies.
I lifted my chin. “No one enters my room without my permission. Not even you.”
He glowered. “That’s all?”
“I want one place where I’m not watched or controlled.”
Elwen’s expression softened slightly.
