The feather lay at Aliena's feet.
Black.
Perfectly smooth.
It should have looked ordinary.
It didn't.
Something about it made the entire room feel colder.
No one touched it.
Not Sebastian.
Not the King.
Not even General Alaric, who had faced creatures far more terrifying than a feather.
Aliena stared at it.
Her mind was still trapped inside the last words she had heard.
Now remember who locked it.
Her own voice.
That was what frightened her most.
Not the prisoner.
Not the ancient door.
Not even the revelation that she might have existed before this life.
Her own voice.
Because somewhere inside her memory was a truth she had deliberately forgotten.
And somehow, the person who had forgotten it was her.
"Aliena."
Sebastian's voice pulled her back.
She looked at him.
He was standing directly in front of her.
His wings had disappeared, but his eyes remained darker than usual.
"Are you all right?"
She almost laughed.
"No."
He studied her face.
