The bone was in her pocket. It was cold. It was sharp.

Elara pressed her thumb against the bruise on her forearm. She was twelve. She stood in the center of the stone hall. The floor was wet. The air smelled of rust and old blood.

"State your name," the Warden said.

He sat on a high chair. He wore a mask of white leather. His voice was flat. It was dead.

"Elara," she said.

"State your crime."

"I stole the Key."

The Warden did not blink. "The Key is a myth."

"Ask the guards," Elara said. Her voice shook. She forced it steady. "Ask them where it goes."

The room went quiet. The torches hissed. Sparks fell on the wet stone.

"Bring her forward," the Warden said.

Two guards stepped out of the shadows. They were large. They wore chainmail. It clinked like dry bones. They moved toward Elara. They did not run. They did not hurry. They walked with a slow, heavy certainty.

Elara stepped back. Her heel hit a crack in the stone.

"Wait," the Warden said.

The guards stopped.

"Ask her what she saw."

Elara looked up. The Warden leaned forward. His eyes were dark pits behind the mask.

"I saw the door," Elara said.

"Which door?"

"The one behind the altar. The one with the red seal."

The Warden’s hand twitched. He rested it on his knee.

"Describe the seal," he said.

"It was a circle," Elara said. "A ring of fire. In the middle, a bird. A bird with broken wings."

The room was silent. The silence was heavy. It pressed on Elara’s chest.

"Is that all?" the Warden asked.

"Yes."

"Lie."

The Warden’s voice was soft. It was worse than shouting.

"I didn't lie," Elara said.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I want to be free."

The Warden laughed. It was a dry sound. Like leaves scraping on stone.

"Freedom," he said. "You speak of freedom. Do you know what freedom costs?"

"I don't care," Elara said.

"Everyone cares. Eventually."

He stood up. The chair scraped against the stone. The sound was loud. It was ugly.

"Take her to the Cell," he said.

The guards grabbed her arms. Their hands were iron. They pulled her forward. Her feet dragged on the wet floor.

"Let go," Elara said.

They did not stop.

They walked into a narrow corridor. The walls were lined with iron bars. Behind the bars, there was nothing. Just dark.

"Wait," Elara said. She stopped. The guards had to stop.

"What?" one guard asked. His voice was rough.

"The bird," Elara said. "The bird in the seal. It wasn't broken. It was flying."

The guard looked at the Warden. The Warden was gone. He had vanished into the shadows.

The guard looked back at Elara. His face was pale. He was sweating.

"Move," he said.

They moved.

The Cell was small. It was a cube of stone. There was no bed. There was no light. There was a single iron ring in the wall.

Elara sat on the floor. The stone was cold. It seeped into her bones.

She reached into her pocket. She pulled out the bone. It was a finger bone. It was small. It was white.

She held it in her palm. She closed her hand.

"Who are you?" a voice said.

Elara opened her eyes.

A boy was sitting in the corner. He was young. He was dirty. He had no shoes.

"I am Elara," she said.

"I know," the boy said. "They tell me everything."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kael."

"Are you a prisoner?"

"I am a ghost," Kael said.

Elara frowned. "There are no ghosts."

"There are," Kael said. "There are only things we forget."

Elara looked at him. His eyes were bright. They reflected the little light from the door.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I am waiting," Kael said.

"For what?"

"For you."

Elara felt a chill. It was not from the cold. It was from the words.

"Why me?"

"Because you have the Key."

"I have a bone," Elara said.

"It is the Key," Kael said. "It is the piece of the man who broke the seal."

Elara looked at the bone. It was just a bone. It was a piece of a dead man.

"Who is the man?" she asked.

"Your father," Kael said.

The air left Elara’s lungs.

"My father is dead," she said.

"Yes," Kael said. "He is dead. But he is not gone. He is in the bone. He is in the wall."

Elara’s hand trembled. She gripped the bone. It cut into her palm. Blood welled up. It was red. It was hot.

"Where is the wall?" she asked.

"Everywhere," Kael said. "The wall is the truth. The truth is the wall."

Elara stood up. She walked to the wall. She pressed her hand against the stone. It was solid. It was hard.

"Let me in," she whispered.

The stone did not move.

"Let me out," she whispered.

The stone did not move.

"Listen," Kael said.

Elara turned to him.

"Listen to the bone," Kael said.

Elara held the bone to her ear. She closed her eyes. She listened.

She heard nothing.

Then, she heard a heartbeat.

It was slow. It was heavy.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was her father’s heart.

Elara opened her eyes. Tears ran down her face.

"He is alive," she said.

"He is waiting," Kael said.

"For what?"

"For you to break the seal."

Elara looked at the bone. It was pulsing. It was alive.

She walked to the iron ring in the wall. She grabbed it. She pulled.

The ring did not move.

She pulled harder. Her muscles screamed. Her back arched.

The ring did not move.

"You cannot break it with strength," Kael said.

"Then how?" Elara gasped.

"With memory."

Elara stopped pulling. She let go. She fell to her knees.

"I remember," she said.

She remembered the day her father left. She remembered his face. He was smiling. He was holding a box.

"I remember the box," she said.

"What was in the box?" Kael asked.

"The bone," Elara said.

He gave it to her.

Why did he give it to her?

To keep her safe.

To keep him safe.

Elara closed her eyes. She let the memory wash over her. She let the pain wash over her. She let the love wash over her.

She held the bone up. She looked at it. It was white. It was clean.

"Break," she said.

The bone cracked.

It split in two.

The sound was like a gun shot.

The stone wall shuddered.

A crack appeared. It was thin. It was black.

Elara stepped back.

The crack widened.

Dust fell.

The wall broke.

Behind the wall, there was a door. It was red. It was made of wood.

Elara walked toward it. Her legs were weak. She felt dizzy.

Kael was gone.

She reached the door. She put her hand on the handle.

The handle was cold.

She turned it.

The door opened.

There was no room beyond.

There was only darkness.

Elara stepped into the darkness.

She walked. She did not know how long. Minutes. Hours. Days.

The darkness was thick. It was wet. It smelled of iron.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

She spun around.

The Warden was there.

He was not wearing the mask.

His face was old. It was tired.

"Elara," he said.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am the Keeper," he said.

"Of what?"

"Of the truth."

Elara stepped back. "You betrayed me."

"I protected you," the Warden said.

"You lied to me."

"I told you the truth. In your way."

Elara shook her head. "I want to be free."

"You are free," the Warden said.

"Then let me go."

The Warden smiled. It was a sad smile.

"You cannot go," he said.

"Why?"

"Because you are the Key."

Elara looked at her hands. They were shaking.

"I am not a Key," she said.

"You are," the Warden said. "You are the lock. And the key. And the door."

Elara felt a coldness in her chest. It was spreading. It was taking over.

"No," she said.

"Yes," the Warden said.

She pushed him. He did not move. He was solid. He was stone.

"Help me," she said.

"I cannot," the Warden said.

"Why?"

"Because I am you."

Elara stopped.

The words hung in the air.

"I am you," the Warden repeated.

Elara looked at his face. It was her face. It was older. It was harder. It was her.

She fell to her knees.

"I don't want this," she cried.

"I know," the Warden said. "But you must."

He reached out. He touched her forehead.

The pain was sharp. It was bright.

Elara screamed.

The darkness broke.

Light flooded in.

Elara opened her eyes.

She was in the Cell.

She was alone.

The bone was in her hand. It was whole. It was unbroken.

The wall was solid.

The door was closed.

Kael was sitting in the corner. He was smiling.

"It was a dream," he said.

Elara looked at the bone.

"Was it?" she asked.

Kael did not answer.

Elara stood up. She walked to the door. She knocked.

"Let me out," she said.

The door did not open.

She knocked harder.

"Let me out," she said.

A voice came from the other side. It was the Warden’s voice.

"Stay," it said.

Elara stopped. She looked at the bone.

She looked at Kael.

Kael was gone.

Elara was alone.

She sat on the floor. She held the bone.

She waited.

She would wait.

She would break the wall.

She would find the door.

She would be free.

The bone was cold.

It was sharp.

It was hers.