Chapter 36 The Curse In The Blood

• The sky over the Northern Kingdom was heavy with clouds, the sun barely breaking through the misty veil that hung like a warning. In the heart of the royal palace, beneath the eastern wing, Lucia stood in a chamber older than the castle itself—carved into the mountain stone, its air thick with forgotten magic.
• She reached toward a pedestal that had risen from the ground after the last moonrise, triggered only when she touched the ancient scepter now stored in the vault. Upon the pedestal sat a sealed box—small, obsidian, etched with silver filigree and a familiar symbol.
• The crescent flame.