>>Tala (Centuries Ago)
The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the occasional creak of old wood and the far-off echoes of death.
I stood slowly, pushing away from the wall, and let my eyes sweep over the room—over the six people who still lived because of luck, or mercy, or maybe just delay.
"I know what you're all thinking," I said, my voice low. "That we can't survive this. That it's only a matter of time before the soldiers find us. Before we're hunted down like the others."
No one spoke. They didn't need to. The fear was written on every face.
I turned my eyes to Salem, standing near the hearth with her arms crossed tight over her chest. Her eyes burned with worry, but she didn't flinch.
"But if we die," I said softly, "if they kill us all—then the seal on the Abyss will break. Maybe not today. Maybe not for decades. But it will break."
