Chapter 16: Ghost Stories
The body of the Rogue King lay cooling on the gravel.
Snow began to fall again. It dusted his open eyes with white flakes. It was a peaceful covering for a violent man.
I stared at him. The adrenaline was fading. It was replaced by a bone deep chill.
Ask your father.
The words looped in my mind like a broken record.
My father was dead. I had seen the body. I had buried him myself five years ago after the Rogue raid that destroyed our home. I remembered the soot on his face. I remembered the smell of burning timber.
Was Thorne lying? Was it just a final cruel game to haunt me?
"Elara!"
Kael scrambled down the service ladder from the upper roof. He dropped the last few feet and landed heavily next to me.
He grabbed my shoulders. He scanned my face for inju
