Elira deeper

eeze. No heartb

ths buried too deep. The violet moss along the path pulsed gently under her feet, casting a faint glow

now how long

be. Or onl

ly, the tr

nd leafless, surrounded an open glade where the grass shimmered like moonlight trapped in g

orward and the

carrying a familiar s

a

r in the fog this time-but warm,

li

r breath caugh

as he had been before the war stole him. His dark hair ruffled in a

arms passed through air. He was a memory. A

ed to her knees

er fingers trembling ab

this place?" his

s where you first to

fter now. "And you

could be that good," she sa

d. And then-scene

tival. The day he carved her name into his sword's hilt, swearing he'd return. E

vision

Kael, staggering beneath a broken sky, clutc

ce cracking. "Stop. Please

rn Rite did

to soothe. It w

und," Kael's memory said, "if y

t to remembe

'll never

ved, and with it,

remained-sti

t inside her ribs. The Thorn Rite wasn't

it want

path opened-lit by thorns that bled g

her tears with th

ment," she whispered, "

forward-into wha