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The Guardian of the Abyss would not be there on that fateful day Without him, the four-sided key of poould remain incoht with the fiercest hearts to defeat her father, but they would fail, and Elden would fall forever to the Blood Sorcerer’s evil Horrifying as that was, it wasn’t the worst truth

Elden had begun to die a slow death the instant the king and the queen - the blood of Elden - had taken their final breaths That death would be coht on the twentieth anniversary of her father’s invasion Not so terrible a thing if it would strip the Blood Sorcerer of power, but Elden’s people were touched by ic, too Without it, they would siain

Her father had spent years seeking to find a solution to what he termed a "disease" Which is why he would not murder the returned heirs No, she’d seen the horror in her vision - he’d have theht after night, their blood dripping to the earth in a continuous flow to fool it into believing the blood of Elden had returned They were a race that lived for centuries, would not easily die And so her father would continue on in his heinous -

Thuuard hacking on the door to hurry her up "I’," she said, and turned away froan to shuffle off in front of her as soon as she stepped out It was difficult to keep up with hier creature than her, each of his feet five ti as her own "Master Bard," she called as she all but ran behind hi the top of the stairs

He didn’t stop, but she saw one of those large ears twitch

"I do not wish to die," she said to his back "What ative

There was no way to survive?

Or he didn’t kno shein to panic, surely her father’s evil hadn’t completely destroyed the soul of the boy who had been Prince Micah She didn’t knowAelfric and Queen Alvina, but she’d heard enough whispers to realize that he had been a beloved prince, the small heart of the royal family, and of Elden

"For who could not love a babe with such a light in his eyes?"

Words her old nursery ht-tale It had taken Liliana years to realize that Mathilde’s night-tales had been the true stories of Elden And then she’d understood why Mathilde had disappeared froain

Months later, her father had taken her for a walk, pointed out the glea dark of the Dead Forest, a faint smile on his face

Pain bloomed in her heart at the memory of the only person who had ever held her when she cried, but she crushed it with a ruthless hand Mathilde was long dead, but the youngest prince of Elden still lived and, no matter the cost, Liliana would return hiht bell

The Lord of the Black Castle found hier than he’d anticipated to capture those spirits destined for the Abyss who had soed to halt their journey at the badlands that surrounded the doorway to their ulti for hi, that the intruder who had dared look hieon

He wasn’t used to such thoughts and they made him curious

So he waited on the black stone of the floor beneath his throne, aware of the day servants fro quiet It had been so as long as he could remember They feared him, even as they served him That was the way it should and would always be, for the Guardian of the Abyss must be a h the stone just as he was getting iroan of theopened The Lord of the Black Castle looked up as Bard walked in His prisoner was nowhere to be seen - until Bard moved aside to expose the odd creature at his back

She wasolden brown that reminded him of honey from the redblossom tree, her eyes were tiny dots a peculiar sort of nowhere color and herevery other feature Her hair stuck out in a stiff mass akin to the straw in the stables, and she li was shorter than the other

Truly, she was not a prepossessing thing at all And yet he remained curious

Because she looked hih to do that for He could not reht," he said