Chapter 27

Korva sat up suddenly, realizing the voice that had kept him locked away in his own thoughts for the past thirty years had vanished. The aftermath of a burst of thunder shook the glass in his window. He looked around his room, nothing had moved since he fell asleep, but it sounded different. He could hear the workers in the kitchen clattering dishes a few floors down, the maids laughing as they dusted rooms. He could hear a horse in the stables, the pitter-patter of rain against his window... He felt like he could hear everything. First, a smile crept onto his face, then tears welled up in his eyes as he realized everything that had happened.

"Where did it all go wrong?" The harder he tried to connect the dots the farther apart they seemed. Memory after memory flooded him, but nothing was clear. Until a memory more solid then stone hit him square in the chest. He was breathless for a moment, and stars flew in front of his eyes.