"I have called you all here, because my time has come," Jeremiah spoke. The other five pillars and I gathered at the round table around him. There was a moment of stunned silence as his words seemed to bounce around in my skull, my mind refusing to allow them to sink in. His time?
"How could this be, First Pillar?" Willow cried, her chair screeching across the marble floor as she stood in disbelief.
I watched as they all wore expressions of shock or confusion and I was sure I reflected the same. He could only mean one thing, judging by the solemn air that had filled the room. Jeremiah meant that he would soon die, but that couldn't be right. Even if he was the oldest living person in this Empire, he still didn't look older than forty-five. How could he be dying?
"The next pillar has r
