felt dif

ngdom. Our battleground. Our fortress. It was crumbling now, its bones creaking with time and silence.

ked like a grave

d to argue over who got to be the h

huh?" I whisp

"What kind of protector can't even protect

knees to my chest, arms around them. Then I cried. Not the pretty kind. The ugly, gasping kind of crying-the k

me-Selena had cooked. The warm spices, the soft steam rising from t

ht, I walked

No energy. Ju

she was busy in the k

Vale

and collapsed on the bed, gripping my pillow tightly like it was the last thin

elt the b

y wet cheeks. I expected him to say something like "It'll be fine" or "Be strong." But instead, he pulled me i

okay," he whispered,

enough for

-on my bed. Their arms wrapped protectively around me. I had

here, but I slept like a chi

don't you visit Uncle Tav today? Fresh

er, Valen nodded. "

made me realize they had talked abo

I w

-

d man lived on the outskirts, in a crooked house that leaned like it was too tired to stand strai

greet me w

teps," he said without turning

n't r

have to speak. But let th

besi

dows on the old stone walls. Outside, bi

g pause, he

the Chains of

at one of your wa

n war. Older than this town. It's a

ker now. And despite

s, but of chains. Chains forged not by men, but by blood drawn from the blind. Creatures

I asked, my voice

o blind the blood was to silence truth

from fear. From... somethi

were forced to bind them beneath the earth. Chained by sightless sacrifice. Some

quick. "You really wa

dn't

e said. "For myths often retur

-

, I dreame

oss the floor like serpents. They curled aro

ground, I heard a v

. Something darker. Something that

, fingers clenched into fists. My heart

rst time since

t just

list

inside me, I

a story or s