Chapter 158: [158] The First Anointing
Xavier arrived through the window like smoke given form, his dark clothing allowing him to blend seamlessly with the volcanic stone. He’d changed since the dinner—gone were the fine blue garments, replaced by practical black that wouldn’t catch light or rustle against stone.
"Cozy," he observed, taking in their makeshift war council. "I’m assuming this room isn’t supposed to be invisible to half the temple’s detection wards."
"Ashley’s doing," Margaret said. "She’s creating interference."
Xavier’s gaze sharpened as he studied Ashley’s condition—the pale skin, the golden fractures, the way she held herself like someone fighting constant pain.
Their eyes met. For a moment, Xavier saw past the golden fractures on her skin to the exhaustion beneath—the same bone-deep weariness that stared back at him from his own reflection. It was the silent acknowledgment of survivors.
"How long can you maintain it?"
"Long enough," Ashley replied, though her voice suggested otherwise. "What did you learn?"
"We have a week," he said, the words clipped. "Maybe less. Lord Torval plans to announce Calypso’s betrothal at the Midwinter Masquerade."
A week. Seven days to unravel whatever conspiracy had trapped them in this world, find their missing friends, and somehow escape from a fortress city built into the heart of an active volcano.
"There’s more," Naomi said. She reached into her robes and withdrew a folded piece of parchment—rough-sketched maps, guard rotations, architectural details gleaned from observation and strategic eavesdropping. "The High Burner has been visiting the Sealed Archives regularly since his sister’s death five years ago. Whatever killed her, whatever happened to the original Lady Selene, the answers are down there."