Chapter 35 All Is Not Lost

• *Maerilee*
• The message feels weighty in my hands as I read it, each word burrowing into my mind, stirring a confusing blend of relief and uncertainty. Permiton has tried, on a very small parchment of paper, to explain his version of events. He’s written why he turned against us, how he saw a vision of our destruction and had to make a quick decision, how there was no time to explain.
• In a few short words, he tries to convey that we can still trust him, that he would never truly betray us. Even still, I feel the urge to crush the paper in my fist, to rid myself of the tangled emotions twisting inside me, but instead, I reach for Brook, who’s been sitting nearby, quietly watching, waiting. I need him to read this, to make sense of it with me.