No one spoke for several long seconds after the elder revealed the location of the next seal.
The throne room.
The words lingered inside the underground shrine like the final line of a sentence no one wanted to finish. Silver fire still burned along the chamber walls, pale light reflecting across shattered stone and the ancient crest suspended above the altar. Outside the broken staircase, snow continued spiraling through the ruined shrine entrance, but even the storm seemed quieter now compared to the silence settling over the chamber.
Selene stared at the glowing covenant lines beneath her feet.
Of course the next seal was hidden beneath the throne.
The empire had buried its greatest lie exactly where power sat every day pretending legitimacy was natural.
It almost would have been clever if it weren't so deeply predictable.
