Thorne immediately took a deep breath and stared back at the place he had come from.He had taken up the most deadliest of missions and had come to his uncle’s terrority, just so that he could meet the mages as they were, in their main mages form.He immediately gazed at the team he had assembled on his way here. He immediately took a deep breath and stared at Sablen and Breck.“Guys, if we leave this fortress now, how the heck are we going to get back in?" “I mean, I still have to master all the clovers, the water clover, the fire clover, the air clover, the illusion clover, the earth clover and more especially, I really think we have more than enough mystery to discover in this cave than ever." “I'm currently suggesting that we stay back and fight off the Pale Scribes and whatever goons that stupid uncle had hired to terrorize this innocent people." “I say we stay and fight, we can actually win this battle, it's not like we are defenceless against our enemies." Thorne immediately

The entire situation was intense as Thorne Valtor immediately took a deep breath and gazed askance at Cael Dross who hadn't yet finished his statement.“You mean my wicked uncle, Lord Darius, actually killed your father and your brother for standing up to him?" Thorne Valtor immediately asked, his face was now etched in shock and bewilderment as he took a deep breath.Thorne Valtor had actually known his uncle, Lord Darius to be Ruthless, almost demon possessed and all that, but he had never expected him to be this cruel and heartless.This exact level of cruelty was what had actually made Thorne vow to take out his uncle by all means possible, even if it meant taking him down with him."Yes, your uncle did all that.” Cael Dross immediately said, his voice was now barely above whispers at the moment, but he wasn't about to give Thorne the talk which he would want to hear at the moment."My point is…” Cael Dross immediately said as he stared closely at Thorne Valtor."My point is that

"There's a version of you," Cael Dross went on, "quieter now, "who marches back into that fortress tonight, clovers blazing, and burns Lord Darius where he stands. And maybe…maybe…you succeed." “But Varek survives, or the nameless clan slips away into the shadows they came from, and in six months a new tyrant wears your uncle's face and speaks with his rhetoric, and you've spent everything you have proving a point nobody needed proven.”"Restraint isn't weakness, Thorne. Restraint is knowing that some victories are worth losing so that you can win the war." Cael Dross immediately said, his voice was laced with intelligence.Sablen tightened her grip on his arm. "Cael's right. And there's something else. You said you wanted to rescue Lirael, take back the throne, expose the nameless clan for what they are…all of that requires people to believe you. Not just the soldiers who already follow you.”"The farmers. The merchants. The nobles are sitting on the fence right now, waiting to see

"Only one thing?" Sablen said, a small attempt at levity that didn't quite land, though Thorne appreciated the effort."If the nameless clan is planning to discard Darius eventually," Thorne continued, "why help him hunt me specifically?" “Why put this much effort into finding one exiled nephew? A dead scaffolding king doesn't need to worry about a rival claimant. Unless…""Unless they're worried about the same thing Darius is worried about," Cael finished, understanding dawning in his voice. "You're not just a threat to your uncle's throne. You're a threat to their whole plan.""The clover mage bloodline," Sablen said, her face laced with shock and bewilderment. "You're the last of it. If the nameless clan is trying to reorganize every city, strip away every old bloodline with a legitimate claim to power…you're not just inconvenient. You're proof that the old order still has a rightful heir standing and breathing.”"As long as you exist, every person under Darius's rule has a reaso

Down below, the search continued with growing urgency. One of the scribes let out a frustrated curse as an entire section of rotted flooring gave way beneath his boots, sending him stumbling into a shallow crawlspace that had apparently gone unnoticed until that moment."Commander! There's a space down here!"The commander crossed the room in three long strides, crouching at the edge of the newly exposed gap while two other scribes brought lanterns closer. For a long, tense moment, nobody in the hidden watching party breathed."Well?" the commander demanded."Empty," the scribe called back after a pause, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Just empty space. Maybe it used to hold something, but there's nothing here now."The commander straightened, exhaling sharply through his nose, and for the first time, something like doubt crossed his weathered features. "Search the outer perimeter. If it isn't inside the structure itself, perhaps it was buried nearby.""Commander, we've been ou