Chapter 108

Aethel’s Point of View:

The stone in my pocket pulsed again, but I was already moving.

Mirella’s voice echoed in my thoughts, shaky and disbelieving: “I saw her. I swear.”

I didn’t allow myself to hope. Hope had teeth. Hope could rip you apart if it proved false.

But I ran.

The courtyard bustled with life—guards shifting ranks, traders shouting greetings, children laughing near the garden wall—but