"Valentina," Alice whispered, "what if we could use the Torrent to end the famine that haunts the southern farms? We could change everything."
Valentina’s brow furrowed. "The Torrent is a living thing, Alice. It is not a tool to be wielded at whim. The oath we swore to Queen Elara is absolute. To break it would be to invite ruin upon us all."
"Enough!" Galitsin shouted, his voice echoing off the mirrors. "You have endangered the kingdom. There is only one punishment for such disobedience." The ancient law of Eldara dictated that those who betrayed the oath would undergo the Trial of Waters , a ritual both cruel and merciful. The condemned would be cast into the Torrent itself, where the river would test their resolve, stripping away the falsehoods that had led them astray and returning them—if they proved worthy—to the realm of the living.