Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 101 - Chapitre 110

Seven months had changed Camille. Selene noticed it most in the mornings. Camille could sit without help now, reach for anything within range, and had recently developed a determination to move herself toward whatever caught her attention.That morning, the object of her interest was Orion's boot. Selene watched from the edge of the bed as Camille leaned forward, planted both hands on the floor, and made an ambitious attempt to crawl.She moved perhaps two inches. Then she stopped, looked at the boot again, and tried harder.Orion entered the room and immediately noticed what she was doing.“What's she after?”“Your boot.”He looked down. Camille looked up at him. Then she reached for him instead. Orion's expression softened.“I think she changed her mind.”Selene laughed. “Convenient.”He crouched and picked Camille up. She immediately grabbed the front of his shirt.“You encourage her.”“She has good taste.”“She is seven months old.

Kaelen had been awake since before sunrise. By the time Orion found him in the archives, three lamps were burning across the long table, surrounded by old records, loose pages, copied symbols, and one very annoyed-looking mage.Selene entered behind Orion and stopped at the doorway.“You look terrible.”Kaelen glanced up. “Good morning to you too.”“You were told to rest.”“I rested.”Orion looked at the untouched cup beside him. “For how long?”Kaelen considered lying. Selene raised an eyebrow.“Long enough.”“That means no,” Orion said.Kaelen sighed and pushed a thin sheet of parchment toward them.“I found something.”That changed the mood immediately. Orion pulled out a chair. Selene sat beside him.Kaelen tapped the parchment.“This symbol.”It was one of the markings copied from the chamber beneath the palace. They had seen it among the older inscriptions, usually beside references to the First House.“I thought it meant authority,” Kaelen said. “That was how the later records

By late afternoon, the palace had settled into its usual rhythm. Nothing about the day suggested that anything had changed.Yet Orion could not stop thinking about the final words Kaelen had left them with.Someone may have remembered what the kingdom chose to forget.He found Selene in their chambers with Camille sitting between them on the rug. Their daughter was busy trying to pull a wooden ring from a small stack of toys and seemed completely uninterested in ancient bloodlines, forgotten guardians, or anything else that had occupied her parents' minds lately.Orion leaned against the doorway.“Kaelen was right.”Selene looked up. “About?”“We've been searching the wrong places.”She glanced toward the table where the translated parchment lay.“We've been searching the palace.”“Exactly.”Selene frowned slightly. “The hidden records are where the First House was erased. If Ashkar knew about them, wouldn't that be where we should look?”“Maybe. But if the kingdom erased the family f

The oldest records of Selene’s family were kept in a narrow room behind the eastern archive, where the palace stored documents too fragile to be handled often. Kaelen had already arranged them across the long table. Selene stood beside Orion, staring at the stacks of parchment. “These are all from my family?” “Not all,” Kaelen said. “Only the records that survived long enough to be useful.” Orion glanced at the oldest bundle. “And what exactly are we looking for?” “Patterns.” Kaelen unfolded the first record. It was a household account from generations ago. Most of it concerned births, marriages, harvests, and deaths. Nothing unusual appeared until a short note near the bottom. Kaelen pointed to it. “Read this.” Selene leaned closer. “When the child cried, the eastern ward answered.” She frowned. “That could mean anything.” “It could,” Kaelen agreed. He opened another record. A child had apparently touched an old moonstone kept in the family home. The stone had glowed s

The palace was unusually lively that morning. Sable had taken over one end of the breakfast table, arguing with Riven over the last piece of sweet bread while Elira tried to keep Camille entertained. Evangeline watched them with an amused smile. “You're both acting like children,” Elira said. Riven pointed at Sable. “She took it first.” “And I am older,” Sable replied. “That has nothing to do with bread.” “It has everything to do with bread.” Orion barely looked up from his breakfast. “Give it to Camille.” Both of them stopped. Sable looked at the bread in her hand, then at Camille. Camille was busy banging a spoon against her tray. Sable sighed and handed the bread to Elira. “There. Peace restored.” Camille immediately reached for it. Elira laughed and gave her a tiny piece. “Slowly.” For several minutes, everything was ordinary. Then Selene took the spoon away. Camille stared at her. “You've had enough.” Camille reached for it again. “No.” Her face crumpled. Selen