Darkness swallowed them whole.
Sunrei's hands scraped against damp stone as he pushed himself upright, his brand pulsing in the blackness like a dying ember. The air smelled of salt and something older like parchment left to rot.
Kaelis cursed beside him, the sound echoing unnaturally in the enclosed space. That little bastard locked us in.
A scrape of steel her knife coming free. Sunrei didn't need light to know it was pointed at him.
Start talking, she said. Her voice was calm. Deadly. Why did your brother look at you like you were the demon?
Sunrei opened his mouth
Light exploded.
Hundreds of glass jars flickered to life along the curved walls, each containing a swirling fragment of luminescence. The tower's interior revealed itself: a cylindrical prison lined with floating memories.
At the center stood a figure.
Bones protruded through paper-thin skin, its elongated limbs folded like a spider's. When it spoke, dust trickled from its lips.
Prince of the Shattered Dawn. Its milky eyes fixed on Sunrei. You've come to remember.
Sunrei's brand burned white-hot.
Kaelis shifted into a fighting stance. "What the hell is this?
The creature didn't blink. The Tower of Forgetting. Where the Eclipse Prince buried his sins. It gestured to the jars. Would you like to see?
Sunrei stepped back
A jar shattered at his feet.
Light engulfed him.
Memory
A moonlit courtyard. Blood on his hands.
A guard slumped against the stones, his throat slit. Young Ryvan face unlined by scars cradled the dying man, screaming.
Sunrei (but not Sunrei, this version wore silver robes) wiped his blade clean.
Tell the others, he said. The Eclipse comes for all who resist.
Sunrei gasped back into the present, his knees hitting stone.
Kaelis stared at him, her knife lowered in shock. That was Ryvan's brother.
The keeper chuckled, its spine cracking as it moved. First of many. The Prince was thorough.
Sunrei's stomach heaved. I didn't
Another jar burst.
Memory
A girl with silver hair (Lithriel) pressed a brand to a screaming child's wrist.
Don't worry, she cooed. The pain is how you know it's working.
Sunrei wrenched free, shattering jars as he stumbled back. Stop it!
The keeper tilted its head. Why? You asked for this. Paid in blood to forget.
Kaelis grabbed Sunrei's arm. Her fingers dug into his brand. "Focus. We need to
The tower door exploded inward.
Cael stood framed in moonlight, his brand glowing violently.
Run,he panted. The skeletons are climbing.
Behind him, bone fingers curled over the threshold.