Before she could answer, Arrow stood. “That could not have been Captain Thorne’s men. Is he still sworn under the Glade’s loyalty?”
Arrow’s question sliced through the moment, redirecting every gaze in the room. I tore my eyes from Fallon, the unspoken question between us left hanging.
The man with the wavy brown hair had risen from his chair, stepping forward with quiet confidence. He nodded in agreement, his carved wooden spike forgotten in his grip.
“Yes, General,” Rhodes replied, his gray-blue eyes fixed intently on Arrow’s. “Captain Thorne serves my father, and his loyalty to the Shadow Glade’s legion is spoken of with reverence.”
My brows scrunched. “The men claimed Thorne sent them. And it’s no coincidence they were also asking about the Tomb—just like the Grim.”
“You’re wrong.” Arrow’s voice was sharp, absolute. “Captain Thorne has been searching for the same answers as the Hollow since he enlisted. If that’s what they said, they must have been lying—trying to put a target on Thorne’s back.”
If that’s what they said.
He was dismissing me. Belittling me.
My pulse quickened. A slow burn spread through my chest, anger twisting in my gut.
“That is what they said,” I growled, slamming my palms onto the table. Sparks ignited at my fingertips, searing tiny scorch marks into the wood.
A sudden rush of water from a nearby elemental doused my hands, snuffing out the embers. I yanked them back, flicking off the droplets as I stared at the charred marks on the table. Conversation about the Eternal Tomb ricocheted around the room, but my gaze didn’t move.
“Out of all our missions into Mageia, we have never been able to find the entrance.”
“It’s a suicide mission to go back right now. Everything is on lockdown.”
“Kalluri wants his cadets back. If we send them in, they’ll never be released.”
“We have to make haste. If the Mareki isn’t mended in time, the Forgotten Realm will crumble. All magic will be lost.”
My head snapped up. “The Forgotten Realm?”
Silence slammed into the space like a blade. Every head turned toward me.
Arrow leaned forward. “The Mareki’s prophecy,” he said. “On the day you two were born, a Seer visited the Hollow. She laid her hand upon your foreheads and recited the prophecy as a warning.”
Pieces snapped together. “I know where the Eternal Tomb is.”
“Tell them,” Lakota encouraged me.
The room stilled.
I swallowed hard. “There was a time when I heard Captain Thorne approaching in the hall, and I wanted to… hide. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I didn’t want to face him.” My eyes dropped to the floor, fingers curling against my palms. “The only thing big enough to conceal me was a bookshelf, so I pressed myself against it, hoping he’d pass without noticing me. But the moment my weight shifted against the wood, the shelf… disappeared. And I fell backward into a dark corridor.”
The silence sharpened.
“Once Thorne and his soldier passed… they couldn’t see me. I was kneeling right there, staring straight at him, but it was like I didn’t exist. The bookshelf isn’t just furniture—it’s a magical barrier, one that only I can pass through. My friends couldn’t follow. No one else could get through the ward.”
The wavy-haired man narrowed his eyes. “Your friends?” His voice carried an edge. “You told your friends about this? Did you reveal this to Shayde Wylder?”
I snapped my head up. “No. I—I didn’t. Only my roommates knew.”
Fallon tapped her knuckles against the table, her expression unreadable. “But Shayde suspects it. I caught him scrutinizing a bookshelf in Mageia last year. It wasn’t just some random shelf to him.”
My brows furrowed in question.
Her eyes cut to our father.
“What did you find within this corridor?” Arrow asked.
