The darkness beneath the palace breathed again.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
Just enough for Aliena to feel it.
A slow, ancient rhythm beneath the soles of her feet.
Beat.
Silence.
Beat.
Silence.
She stood completely still.
Her hand was still wrapped around Sebastian's.
Neither of them spoke.
The words from the King remained suspended in the chamber like smoke.
Your name.
That is why they named you Sebastian.
Aliena looked at him.
For the first time since she had known him, Sebastian looked genuinely unsettled.
Not angry.
Not arrogant.
Not cold.
Unsettled.
His golden-red eyes were fixed on the floor beneath them.
The black symbol surrounding his feet had begun to fade, but the red symbol beneath Aliena remained.
It pulsed with the same rhythm as the heartbeat below.
Beat.
The mark on her palm burned.
Beat.
Sebastian's fingers tightened around hers.
"Don't listen to it."
Aliena slowly turned toward him.
"Listen to what?"
His eyes lifted to hers.
