Chapter 46 Uneasy Alliances

• The transformation of Lord Cassius from enemy to reluctant ally felt surreal, like waking from a nightmare only to find yourself in a different dream. His soldiers remained kneeling throughout the cathedral, their faces reflecting the kind of terror that came from witnessing powers beyond mortal comprehension. The Armor of Echoes hummed around me, its bone plates shifting and adjusting with each breath I took.
• Through our soul-bond, I felt Aldric's growing concern. Not fear of me, exactly, but fear of what I was becoming. The memories I'd absorbed from the crystal vial were changing my perspective in ways that went beyond mere knowledge. I could feel myself becoming more distant from human concerns, more focused on cosmic threats than personal relationships.
• "My queen," Sir Marcus said, his ghostly form flickering slightly as he approached. "The binding that sustains us grows weak. We cannot maintain corporeal form much longer without additional power."