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Silver light flows beneath my skin, illuminating the veins in my wrists with a soft glow that disappears as quickly as I allow it tosurface. Each time I let it free, even for these brief moments, it feels stronger. More insistent.

Less like an intruder, and more like a promise I’m afraid to claim.

Outside the window, night falls over Ashenvale.

The tower that seemed so imposing in daylight becomes a black silhouette against a sky scattered with unfamiliar stars. In the darkness, I think of Sacha's face when he spoke of what this place once was—the fleeting softness in his eyes, the shadow of grief quickly masked.

The home he lost. The cause he fought for. The years stolen from him.

Tomorrow, we take back a piece of what was taken from him. And though I tell myself it's just another step toward finding my way home, I can't deny the fierce satisfaction I feel at the thought of helping him reclaim what's his.

When did his mission become partly mine?

When did his pain start to matter so much?

When did I stop thinking he might be the bad guy, and start believing that his cause was true?

Sleep tugs at me, but my mind circles back to him, alone with Varam just down the hall.

Close enough to reach, yet so much further away than he's been since the moment I found him in that silver tower.

Chapter Thirty-Two

SACHA

“A stranger’s kindness is often mistaken for magic.”

Wisdom of the Wandering Sages

I pace the small room,unable to keep still. Six steps from wall to wall, twelve from door to window.

Varam shuffles through forged paperwork, the rustle of parchment keeping time with my footsteps. He doesn't say anything as I move from one end of the room to the other and back again, trapped in a cycle I can’t stop.

“Are you certain you don't want to do the reconnaissance yourself? Your knowledge of Ashenvale's original layout is better than mine.”

“It's too risky. Someone might still recognize me, despite all the years.” The words come automatically, but the truth runs deeper. If I’m seen, if I’m recognized, I won’t just be returned to imprisonment, I’ll be executed. It’s a risk I’m willing to take to get the ring, but not before. “You and Mira will draw less attention.”

There’s also Ellie to consider. I can’t leave her here alone, and I can’t take her with us. Not while her abilities are still too unpredictable. If she loses control in the wrong place, we’ll have adisaster on our hands. And the thought of her facing this city’s cruelty because of me is unacceptable.

“Besides, the Authority may have changed things more than we anticipated. What I know won’t be useful in places where they’ve rebuilt.”

“I’ll focus on the best entry point to access the vault, and Mira can verify the Day of Order schedule,” Varam says. “We should be back here by nightfall."

“If you're discovered, get out of the city. Don’t come back for us. I’ll get Ellie and myself out if it’s necessary.”

Before he can argue, there’s a knock at the door. Mira and Ellie step inside. Mira’s already dressed for reconnaissance. To anyone looking, she appears to be nothing more than a servant on an errand.

Ellie, on the other hand, looks tense and tired, her body tight with exhaustion.

“Ready?” Varam addresses Mira, who nods.

The door closes behind them, leaving the room in an uneasy silence. I stand near the window, careful to remain out of sight, watching as workers cross the courtyard. The city I once guarded has been reshaped into something unrecognizable. A fortress designed to suppress rather than protect.

Ellie’s quiet voice breaks the silence. “What was it like? Before you left here.”

“Different in every way that matters. Ashenvale was built to be a sanctuary, not a prison. We had defenses, of course, but they faced outward … to shield what grew within, not to cage it.”

What I don't say is how deeply the sight of it wounds me. Howevery new wall built feels like a betrayal. Where once the Veinwardens trained openly beneath sky-reaching arches, now Authority guards drill in soulless unison.