Too late.
The words hung in the chamber like a death sentence.
The silver fire still blazed around the shrine walls, throwing trembling light across shattered stone and broken chains. Dust drifted from the ceiling in thin gray clouds. The ancient underground chamber no longer felt like a place built for worship. It felt like a sealed wound finally torn open.
Selene's breath came unevenly as Kael kept one hand braced around her arm, steadying her while the aftershock of the vision faded in jagged fragments behind her eyes. The image of the woman beneath the moon still burned in her mind -- the silver eyes, the black crown, the chained throat, the feeling of blood and grief and power all braided together.
Remembered.
The word still echoed faintly inside her chest.
Not spoken.
Not learned.
Remembered.
Kael noticed her condition immediately.
"Look at me."
