Chapter 10 · The Price of Remembering

"You did it," Mara spat. Her voice shook. She didn't just step back—she recoiled, like Riven had just turned into a viper. "You put him in that hole. You locked him away!"

Riven didn't flinch. He stood there, chest heaving, eyes clouded. He looked like a man waking up from a dream he couldn't quite grasp. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me!" Mara screamed. The sound whipped off the cold stone walls of the archive. She lunged, grabbing the lapel of his heavy coat and shaking him. "The entity said it! He said your name! How could you do that to Eli?"

Riven’s hand clamped around her wrist. Hard. He pinned her in place, forcing her to look up into his fractured gaze. "The entity was a fragment of a dying spell, Mara. It feeds on fear. You think I’d forget my own crimes?"

"Maybe that's the point!" she snapped, wrenching her arm. "The Council wiped you. Now you're just a dog on a leash who doesn't even know who he bit!"

"Enough!"

Soren’s voice sliced through the air. The archivist was vibrating, hands trembling over the ancient parchment on the stone table.