How did it come to this…
No, more importantly — how could something like this even be possible?
An entire palace… vanished without a trace. My family—my bloodline—wiped off the face of the earth.
It felt like someone had torn out a piece of my soul.
As if my name, my story, had been erased from this world.
But even that… was nothing compared to what Lirael was feeling.
She hadn't just lost her hom. She had lost everyone she loved.
"I'm coming with you, Sister!" she sobbed.
"No. Absolutely not. It's too dangerous."
"But they're my family too!"
"Exactly. That's why you can't come," Elise replied firmly. "I'll go. I'll find them. You... stay at the Academy. Focus on your studies."
"I can't... I don't want to live like this! If they're really gone... we have nothing left!"
Elise went silent. Then she stepped forward, gently placing her hands on Lirael's shoulders.
"Can you stand?"
