Chapter 56: Back in Willow

Scar's POV

The silence within my private chambers was suffocating, pressing in on me from all sides. Since the shock of Lena's betrayal and missing book, I had cloistered myself away, interacting with others as little as possible. I could not bear to see the fearful glances or sense the simmering unease within my people whenever I approached. Not when my own spirit was so violently churning.

Though I kept up a stoic front, inside I alternated between rage and profound grief at all that had been ripped away. My incompetence had cost dragonkind dearly. Our history and knowledge were gone, our unity shattered. And the gnawing void where my heart once resided seemed to be slowly consuming me from within.

For days, the changes had been subtle - sleepless nights staring into the darkness, spells of dizziness, a vague sense of fragility. But this morning upon glimpsing my reflection, the differences had become impossible to ignore.

My complexion had turned sallow, cheeks gaunt and shadows ri