“I didn’t.”
Tal smiled.
“With your hand.”
The boy looked toward the frozen giants.
“Can I wake them?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you are not ready.”
Elias bristled.
“People are dying.”
“Yes.”
“Then make me ready.”
The Keeper stared for a long time.
“You sound like your mother.”
Training began.
Not swordsmanship first.
Listening.
Elias hated it.
He sat with his hands on cold stone for hours.
Nothing.
Tal told him Guardians did not hear commands.
They heard intention.
“If you want power, they remain stone.”
“If I want to save people?”
“They may listen.”
“May?”
“Freedom includes refusal.”
Elias thought of kings.
“Then how does anyone rule them?”
“They don’t.”
That answer changed his understanding of royalty more than any history lesson.
Serah trained him physically.
Stance.
Knife defense.
Running.
Falling.
He was small.
Weak from years of hunger.
He failed constantly.
When he complained, Serah said, “Good.”
“Why is everything good when it hurts?”
“Because pain tells you what remains weak.”
“That’s terrible philosophy.”
“Yes.”
Weeks passed.
Valoria worsened.
Refugees arrived at Mount Arken through hidden routes.
Tal allowed them into the lower halls.
Farmers.
Guards.
Merchants.
Children.
Some recognized Elias.
Some bowed.
He hated it.
“Don’t.”
One old man refused to stand.
“You’re the prince.”
“I’m Elias.”
“You’re both.”
The boy did not know how to carry both.
Then Mira arrived.
She entered the mountain covered in dirt, carrying stolen royal maps.
Elias ran to her.
“You’re alive.”
“You sound disappointed.”
He hugged her.
She froze.
Then hugged back.
Serah watched.
Mira pulled away quickly.
“You got taller.”
“No.”
“Maybe cleaner.”
Elias smiled for the first time in days.
Mira brought news.
King Aldric had abandoned the northern quarter.
Thousands were trapped.
Prince Corvin publicly challenged his father’s decision.
Aldric confined him.
Queen Selene disappeared.
Master Oren had been arrested for treason after speaking about the old dynasty.
Chancellor Malrec now controlled most military orders.
Serah’s expression darkened.
“Malrec.”
“What?”
“He served Aldric’s father.”
“So?”
“Too long.”
Tal looked up sharply.
The Keeper’s golden eyes narrowed.
“What is the Chancellor’s full name?”
“Malrec Vey.”
Tal went still.
“Vey.”
“Yes.”
“That name served the Shadow.”
Silence.
The enemy was already inside the palace.