the fragmented images and the lingering echo of the name "Aethelred" continued to puzzle her. Alistair found himself visi

ebook she'd been given. Her brow was furrowed in conce

g?" Alistair asked g

as a sketch of a tower, its stone walls weathered and ancient, reaching to

oftly. "It feels like a place I've

her sketch bore a striking resemblance to illustration

story?" he asked, trying

I don't even remember what I was interested in before the accident." A shado

red her, though he couldn't shake the feeling that her mem

o real," Elara insisted. "Like s

stylized star above a crescent moon, intertwined with a vine. Alistair recog

d with a mixture of awe and appre

It just appeared in my mind as I was holding the

Aethelred?" Ali

"Maybe. The name feels connected to t

She sketched knights in shining armor, spoke of moonlit gardens, and described a woman w

the increasingly fantastical elements of Elara's recollections. He found himself spending hours rese

stair," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "I had another dream. I saw him... the man with your eyes. He was we

the deepest recesses of his mind. He looked at Elara, her twilight eyes filled with

through him. "Elara," he said softly, his gaze locked with hers, "I don't under

chance encounter. The locket's secret, whispered through dreams and etched in ancient symbols, was beginning to weave a tapestry that linked their present to a