“Magic is imprecise at this level,” He pressed the crystal into my hand. “But it's your best chance. Maybe your only chance.”
I stared at the crystal. Such a small thing to carry so much weight.
“And if it doesn't work?” I asked.
“Then we all become Seraphine's puppets, and she rebuilds her empire using our bodies as tools.” Aldric's voice was bleak. “There is no 'if it doesn't work' backup plan, Sophia. Either you stop her, or everything ends.”
“No pressure then.”
“I'm sorry.” And he sounded it. Genuinely, sorry. “I'm sorry it's come to this. Sorry that I couldn't stop her decades ago before she became this. Sorry that the burden of fixing my failure falls to you.”
“It's not your failure—”
“It is.” Aldric's voice carried centuries of regret. “I loved her once. Could have helped her
