Epilogue
The burned grounds of the Havamal glistened in the moonlight. The fire that King Calix had created had burned for days.
The king had destroyed much more than the amphitheater, though. My entire family had been torn apart. Haldron’s retribution on my tribe had been swift and merciless—only a few of us had escaped.
Every chance I’d had to escape back to here, though, I had taken, with one goal in mind.
The spade in my hand turned the soil, dust and rock spilling from it onto the careful line I’d dug across the floor of the amphitheater.
Night after night.
The arduous task seemingly unending.
I pushed the spade into the soil once again and this time, I heard the soft chink of metal grating against metal.
Dropping to my knees, I sifted through the dirt and ash in the spade.
My fingers brushed against the chain first, my breath catching in my throat.
For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it. Just another piece of scorched metal, another fragment of ruin. But then, as I brushed away the soot, something gleamed—dim, but unmistakable.
I found it.
For so long, I’d questioned myself, wondering if I’d really seen it drop from the king’s grip as he strode out of the Havamal, holding Seren in his arms, wreathed in smoke and flame.
But here it was.
The amulet.
I’d found it at last.