I swallowed hard. “Then we’ll find it.”
ChapterThirty-Eight
Islipped the leather strap over my head, after placing the vial beneath my armor. The subtle hum of power against my skin made my breath hitch. Whatever this was… it was more than just a cure.
“What does this open?” I asked, fingers brushing the key as it pulsed softly, like it recognized me.
The elder’s expression didn’t change, but the ancient depth in his eyes seemed to glimmer with secrets. “You must find your own path from here,” he said calmly. “I have given you everything you need.”
“But the vial—” I started, heart skipping.
He lifted one gnarled hand. The gesture silenced me instantly.
“The information you seek,” he said, “is in the castle archives. Buried beneath layers of dust and misdirection. The truth, as it always is, waits for those willing to see beyond the surface.”
I touched the key again.
“But what do I do with this?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper now, like the answer might break something if spoken too loudly.
The elder’s smile was mysterious. “You unlock the future.”
My breath caught. “What about the VirelithCrystal?”
He motioned to the key. “You already possess it. Its power infuses the key.”
My fingertips caressed the purple crystal affixed to the key before Zander stepped beside me, his body tense, as if he were ready to take the world apart piece by piece just to protect me. He looked at the elder, then at me.
He was confused, but I was starting to understand something.
The door wasn’t physical. The cure, the key, the trial—it was all part of something bigger. A puzzle. One only I could solve.
“I guess it’s time to return to the castle,” I said aloud.
“To the lies,” Zander murmured.
“To the truth hidden among them,” I corrected.
And together, we turned from the hall, the key to our future burning against my heart.
We found our dragons lounging like spoiled nobles on the beach, half-buried in warm sand with bones of the sea-beast scattered like forgotten treasures. Katama flicked his tail lazily, while Hein and Kaelith had curled close together, their wings draped protectively like sheltering canopies. None of them looked particularly eager to move.
“Kaelith,” I called softly, and her head lifted slowly, violet eyes glowing with quiet defiance.
I know,she said, the thought brushing against me like the edge of a storm.But I do like it here. It feels like the… home I forgot.
I placed a hand on her scaled shoulder, the heat of her power pulsed beneath my palm. “I feel that too,” I whispered. “But we have a war to fight.”
She huffed and rose, her twin tails dragging furrows in the sand as she stretched her wings. Hein stood beside her in silent solidarity, and soon the others followed.
Dormeal waited at the edge of the path, his expression unreadable. I nodded to him in thanks.
As we started the climb back toward the ledge where we’d first landed, Riven sidled up beside me and bumped my shoulder. “So… a princess, huh?”
I blinked, the words sinking like stones in my stomach. I’d almost forgotten. The revelation of my bloodline, of who my grandfather was, had been swept away by the weight of the sanctuary, the trial, the key.
“Yeah,” I said, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m still trying to process that myself.”
Her gaze didn’t falter. “You don’t have to explain, Ashe. But… Blood throne or not, you’re ours.”
