Chapter 173
The Weaver's Approach
The bell tolls from the ruined palace, and a grey-robed woman emerges, calling herself the weaver of the threshold. She reveals the black line on Elenwe's palm is a debt that will consume her unless she surrenders the child's memory of the song. Elenwe refuses, and the weaver binds the line with a silver thread, then vanishes. A fissure opens, and a familiar voice calls from below.
The second toll came before the first had faded, a deeper note that vibrated through the rain-soaked stones. Elenwe tightened her arms around the child, feeling the small body tremble. Ren moved closer, his hand on the hilt of the broken stone he still carried.
"There," the child whispered, pointing toward the palace. The great doors, shattered and blackened by the hollow's crystal, stood open. Beyond them, the darkness had depth, a shape moving within it.
Elenwe's palm ached, the black line pulsing in rhythm with the bell. She rose slowly, the child still cradled against her chest. Ren stepped in front of her, but she shook her head. "No. If it's the weaver, hiding won't help."
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