{"Not all power is born to be wielded. Some is buried for the sake of the world."}
CAELAN'S POV
The garden at the heart of the Pearl Castle shimmered in twilight, caught between the fading warmth of the sun and the rise of sea-born night. Coral flowers glowed faintly, blooming from stone and salt. Bioluminescent moss lined the pathways, and the whisper of waves echoed like breath from the cliffs below.
I walked beside Morkai in silence, guiding him away from the war table and the tension of command. He followed me willingly, his steps quieter now, more contemplative. I knew he felt it too, the slow thrumming of something beneath our feet, ancient and unyielding. We stopped beneath the large arch of moonstone trees where the sea breeze didn't quite reach. My fingers grazed the cool stone of a bench, but I didn't sit.
Instead, I turned to face him. "Morkai," I said softly, "there's something under the castle. Something more than memory. More than history."
