At dawn on the third day, Morwen descended to the lower chamber.
She hadn’t come down before. For the previous two days she had remained in the circular room at the tower’s summit, resting in brief stretches beside the basin of black water, eating the meals Aldric’s witches carried up to her, and observing the thread of the seal inside Aria’s chest from afar. On the third morning, as the first light arrived, she made her way down the winding staircase without haste, one hand brushing the wall for support. Her grey hair hung freely over her shoulders.
She halted outside the lower room.
There was no knock.
There didn’t need to be.
Aria was already awake. She’d been awake for over an hour. Kael lay beside her on the bedroll, finally sleeping deeply after days without proper rest. Aria ha
