Page 289 of Elemental Becoming

General Cassian Dain.

Shadow Clan.

Fire Clan.

Two enemies. Two leaders at war. And yet, this letter is not a declaration of violence. It is a plea.

“I spent three days trying to prove Veyne was lying,” Valen adds.

I read aloud, my voice barely above a whisper.“ . . . If there is a way to stop the bloodshed, we must find it. This war is being fueled by fear, but we both know the truth. The people do not fear us. They fear what they have been told.”

My voice falters.

Valen nods grimly. “There was an attempt at a ceasefire.”

The room feels suddenly smaller.

“No. That’s not—” I shake my head and force myself to read the next lines.

“You told me once that honor demands truth, but I do not think your Warlord understands what honor is anymore. He does not want peace. He wants erasure.”

The last three words strike with brutal force. I press my palm against the table, steadying myself.

“Erasure,” I echo. The word tastes foreign and bitter on my tongue.

I look back down at the journal, my thoughts racing. One document could be dismissed. Two could be coincidence. But the journal, the troop movements, the official reports, and now this letter all point toward the same impossible conclusion. Individually, each leaves room for doubt, but together, they paint a history that no longer resembles the one I’ve been taught.

Valen exhales sharply, his finger striking the parchment with measured intensity.

“That’s why we need to find the missing ledger.” His voice is taut, threaded with urgency.

I frown. “The ledger?”

Valen nods, already rifling through the piles of parchment scattered across the table.

“Veyne refers to it several times. At first, I thought he was speaking metaphorically. A record of events. Notes. Testimony.”

He pulls out another page and slides it toward me.

“But the more I read, the more convinced I became that he meant an actual ledger.”

I step closer.

“What kind of ledger?”

Valen flips through several pages of the journal, stopping at amarked passage.

“A collection of names. Dates. Correspondence.” His finger traces a line of faded text. “According to Veyne, it contained enough evidence to expose everyone involved.”

A chill runs through me.

“Everyone involved in what?”

He rubs his jaw.

“The campaign against the Shadow Wielders.”

I look back at the journal.