Elena
*****Silverfang — High Wing, Late Night*****
I hated the quiet.
It pressed in on me, thick and heavy, settling into my chest like it belonged there. The kind of quiet that didn’t soothe, didn’t heal, only reminded. Every c***k of the stone walls, every soft hiss of the ward flames, every distant footstep below carried one truth I couldn’t escape.
Chase was still here.
I knew it the same way I knew when my children slept or when danger crept too close to the borders. I didn’t need to see him. I felt him. Like a constant presence at the edge of my awareness, restrained but unyielding.
Patient.
That was the worst part.
I paced the length of the room, bare feet cold against the marble floor, arms wrapped tightly around myself as if I could hold my heart still. The twins were asle
