Beyond the Starlit River
Father, pale as paper, touched my face and smiled.
"Eli, wait a little longer. Just one more day."
But on the third night, I never saw Father come back.
Instead, the guards took me to the pavilion. At a glance, I saw Father being held in place.
Adrian stood beside Mother with a smug curl on his lips, directing guards to dig beneath the old peach-tree stump where my aunt's remains were buried.
"The diviner said the thing beneath this ground is the reason my body grows weaker by the day. Dig carefully. Don't miss a single inch."