Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm

The three days passed in a frantic, sleepless blur. The quiet camaraderie of the library was replaced by the intense, focused energy of a war room. The scroll from Lilian lay on the central table, a silent, malevolent countdown. Our mission was twofold, both parts seeming equally impossible. First, we had to find tangible proof of my lineage to Seraphina. Second, we had to master the public demonstration of our bond as a "vital power," a concept so abstract it felt like grasping smoke. Kaleb...