keeper of the lost cities · fantasy · elf · mesmer abilities · protective father · animal rehabilitator · havenfield · family drama · grief · stubborn
***The door loomed before us, heavy and forbidding. I reached for the chain and gave it a pull; a deep chime resonated through the stone corridor, then faded into a silence so dense it pressed against my ears. Sophie shifted beside me, her anxiety palpable. Just as I began to doubt he was there, his voice scraped out from within: 'Come in.' Inside, the room was a stark cell—gray walls, cold blue crystals glowing in sconces, four metal chairs riveted to the floor. My gaze instinctively went to Brant, and I had to force it away. The scars were worse than I remembered: pitted valleys along his jawline, raw, splotchy skin creeping up his cheek. He coughed, a wet, ragged sound he covered with a twisted hand. 'You brought two new people,' he rasped. I drew Sophie and Valerie closer, my arms e…