Vaelric did not answer immediately.
He merely stood where he was, his calm, unwavering gaze fixed upon the mad witch before him. The eerie smile that stretched across Nehum's weathered face never once faltered. If anything, it seemed to deepen beneath the flickering glow of the fireplace, as though she had been waiting an entire year to witness the expression on his face after uttering those final words.
The hut fell into an oppressive silence. The fire crackled softly. Somewhere outside, the wind hissed through the branches of the Forbidden Forest, rattling the dried bones and charms hanging from the roof.
Nehum was the first to break the silence.
"It was within this very hut," she said with unmistakable satisfaction, slowly spreading her arms as though presenting the room itself to him, "that your eyes were finally opened to the truth. It was here that you learned what no king, no god, and no oracle would ever have willingly revealed to you.
