Cole silently took Elliana’s hand, a quiet gesture of support for whatever she decided. Though Griffiths blood coursed through his body, he had never embraced membership in the family and felt no loyalty to their crumbling empire.

“What about the secret of your mother’s origins—does that hold no power over you?” Maxine studied Elliana, her voice dissolving into a desperate whisper.

“If you turn me away, that truth dies with me. No living soul will ever discover where she came from.”

Elliana’s lips compressed into a thin, bloodless line. Words abandoned her. She had refused the Sovereign’s Orb specifically to sever every thread connecting her to the Griffiths family. Whether the Griffiths family flourished or withered into dust mattered nothing to her. Her only desire had been to find her mother, reunite her scattered family, and finally claim the peaceful life she deserved. But Maxine had weaponized that yearning, wielding it as leverage to force the burden of Griffiths leadership onto her shoulders.

After a long, suffocating silence, Elliana released a bitter laugh.

“You’re making a reckless gamble, Maxine. What prevents me from seizing the Sovereign’s Orb, extracting the secret from you, and abandoning your family the instant you stop breathing?”

“You won’t,” Maxine declared with unshakeable conviction.

“You’re cut from the same cloth as your mother. You both honor your promises. You guard the vows you make—you wouldn’t deceive a woman on her deathbed.”

Elliana’s jaw clenched, her refusal still clinging stubbornly to her tongue.

Suddenly, a violent cough tore through Maxine’s chest. Blood sprayed from her mouth in a crimson arc, and she crumpled into the snow.

Elliana lunged to her side. Time was bleeding away—Maxine’s life slipped further from reach with every heartbeat that passed.

“Elliana… my time is running out. Please, won’t you say yes?” Maxine’s voice emerged as little more than a rasp, each word clinging desperately to her final breath.

“When I stole your mother away, she had lived only three days. She grew up never knowing where she belonged. I alone…”

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Elliana carried this truth. The moment I close my eyes, the mystery vanishes with me into the void.”

Elliana’s options had evaporated.

“Fine,” she heard herself say, the word escaping before thought could catch it.

“I agree.” With that, she took the Sovereign’s Orb from Maxine’s hand.

Relief washed across Maxine’s face, softening the hard edges pain had carved there. Her breathing thinned to wisps, her eyelids sagged under an impossible weight, and her heartbeat stumbled through its final, faltering rhythm. Only her lips retained the strength to shape sound.

“Elliana, come closer… I’ll tell you everything.”

Elliana leaned down and lowered her ear to Maxine’s mouth.

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