LYSANDER
The name meant nothing to me. I didn't know a Gabriel. I didn't know anyone connected to Skollrend outside of Fia herself.
But this Gabriel knew my father. He knew where to send this letter. He knew what words to use to make it impossible to ignore.
I read the letter again. Slower this time. Looking for holes. Looking for exaggeration. Looking for anything that would let me dismiss it outright.
I found nothing.
The language was too precise. Too confident. This was not the work of someone desperate or delusional. This was someone who had done their research. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
I looked up at my father.
He was watching me with that same calm expression he always wore. Like he had already made his decision and was simply waiting for me to catch up.
"What do you think?" he asked.
I folded the letter carefully and set it back on his desk.
"Who is this Gabriel?" I shot back instead.
