The sheer, staggering absurdity of Elara’s declaration hung in the salt-tinged air. A childhood fantasy, petrified into a sacred vow in a lonely, twisted heart. Linsy could almost pity her, this woman clutching at the ghost of a boy’s offhand kindness.

“Elara,” Linsy said, her voice low but cutting through the harbor’s growl. “That was a scrap of comfort offered to a scared child. It wasn’t a contract. It wasn’t a promise of marriage.”

“It was everything!” Elara’s ...