El-kharis POV
The day had been long, and it felt as though my bones were made of lead. Each step I took, from the depths of the chamber where we discovered the secret to the gem, to the edge of the training field, weighed heavily on my shoulders. Every breath was shallow, reminding me that I hadn't taken a break in what felt like days.
But we had made progress. That was something. The gem used to break the veil—the very thing that had once protected us from the outside world—had finally been understood. The answer had been maddeningly simple, though only after countless hours of grueling investigation. And just when I thought I could breathe easy, Lilith, with her relentless pursuit of power, found out that there were more of these gems beyond the veil. She believed—no, she knew—that access to Aethoria still remained, despite all we'd done to guard it.
