The door slammed open, crashing against the stone wall.
All eyes turned to her. She didn't care.
"Ava!" Ariel's voice cracked as she rushed to the bed, nearly tripping over her dress.
Ava lay still. Too still. Her pale skin marred with deep bruises, cruel scars. Her chest barely rose, barely fell. Ariel seized her sister's icy hand, her breath coming in sharp, shuddering sobs.
"No... no, no. Ava, what happened to you?"
"She was caught by the Forbidden Wall."
The words were delivered with unnerving indifference.
Ariel stiffened. Her head snapped toward the speaker. The Mormont.
"You did this to her?!" she spat, fury clawing up her throat.
The Mormont didn't flinch. "She was found this way." His tone was flat, his expression unreadable.
Ariel's rage turned venomous. "She's just a child!"
The Mormont's mouth parted, but another voice sliced through the tension.
"The gods spare who they spare.
Punish who they punish.
Man, woman.
Rich, poor…"
Ariel's breath hitched.
The air grew heavier. Colder.
Osten, the Queen Regent and brother, stepped forward. The darkness around him felt alive, pressing in, suffocating. He stopped beside her, leaning in just enough for his breath to graze her ear.
"…Old, young."
Ariel's hands curled into fists. Struggling between fear and fury . She lifted her face to him.
"Ava has climbed great walls, valley trees, fountain rocks. She climbed after our mother died. She climbed after our father died. She never stopped. And she never fell." Her voice cracked on the last word.
"Until now." Osten didn't react. Didn't blink. He merely turned, his hands clasped behind his back. He turned around and walked out of the room.
Then he paused. Turned his head slightly.
"She climbed. She fell. And now, she will never climb again."
And he was gone.
Ariel swayed, as if the weight of his words had struck her a blow.
"What does he mean—?" Her voice faltered.
The Mormont, standing by Ava's bedside, exhaled slowly. His bald head shone under the candlelight. "The fall was hard. Even if she wakes up, she might never use her legs again."
Ariel's world shattered.
She fell to her knees, clutching Ava's limp hand. "We just lost Father. I can't lose you too." Her sobs racked her body.
Her fingers brushed against Ava's palm. A small object slipped from her sister's grasp and hit the floor with a sharp, shattering noise.
Ariel's breath caught.
She looked down…