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"What we found was information about something called a siphon," Aether said, his voice carrying weight that made everyone lean forward. "A person who can redirect the flow of essence through the realm."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Rethlyn said, scrunching his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't have." Aether's jaw tightened. "Throughout history, they've been erased from existence. Viewed as an abomination."

"But why?" Vexa asked.

I stepped forward, drawing their attention. "Because they don't just redirect essence—they can steal it. Pull it from the land itself, from other people."

"That sounds like a Damphyre," Mira said quietly.

Aether stepped closer, his voice taking on a grimmer tone. "There are similarities, yes, but a Damphyre is created—twisted into existence through the murder of another Kalfar. Their ability to drain essence is unnatural, forced. A siphon is born with this power. It's their tether, as much a part of them as breathing." His eyes fell on me again. "But while Damphyres can only feed on their fellow Kalfar, a siphon's reach extends to the land itself. They can pull essence from one place and channel it to another. Both abilities corrupt the natural flow of essence—which is why our people have always viewed them with such... extreme vitriol."

"So what does this have to do with the arcanite towers?" Theron asked.

"Because we finally know how Sídhe's been doing it," Aether said. "How they've been draining our realm."

The room went quiet, waiting. I stepped forward.

"The King of Sídhe is a siphon."

"The King," Raven breathed, scribbling something into a notepad. "Is this common knowledge in Sídhe?"

I leaned against the stone wall, eyes tracing a pattern on the floor. "No one has ever known what his focus—tether is. It's always been a mystery."

"It would make sense," Vexa said, pacing now. "The way the drought spreads, how they're able to drain specific regions while others remain untouched..."

"How long?" Mira asked, her voice sharp. "How long has he been planning this?"

"Decades," I said. "Ever since they started farming arcanite in Riftdremar. This was the goal all along."

"So what do we do? Assassinate the King?" Theron asked.

A chill ran across my skin at the thought, but I couldn't say I hadn't considered it myself. "We don't know, but this changes everything. We have to come up with a new plan to approach this."

"In the meantime," Aether cut in, "we have an idea that might help restore some of what's been stolen, but we're going to need help from everyone in this room."

Rethlyn leaned forward. "What kind of idea?"

Aether nodded to me, and I stepped closer to the center of the room. My heart thundered against my ribs—what I was about to suggest wasn't just dangerous, it was probably impossible. But after everything we'd learned, we had to try something.

"I believe that if I can get my hands on arcanite, I might be able to imbue it with essence."

"That's quite an assumption." Mira narrowed her eyes.

"Talon—when he examined me—said that essence seemed to flow through me in a way that was different than a tether. There was no connection between me and the land." I paused, collecting myself. "He said that I create my own essence. That its self-sustaining. Valkan seemed to think the same thing."

I looked down as another silence fell across the room.

"And where exactly do you propose we find arcanite?" Effie finally asked, though something in her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

I met her gaze steadily. "Riftdremar."

And once again, all eyes fell in my direction.

"That's impossible," Theron said. "Riftdremar was destroyed. Everything was burned?—"

"But what if it wasn't?" I pressed. "What if they only took what they needed? There could still be stores left, forgotten after all these years."