Elena
*****Early Evening — The War-Torn Valley*****
The fire finally began to fade.
Not disappear, never that, but soften, like a wounded beast pulling back just enough to breathe. Smoke still covered the valley, thick and gray, stinging my eyes and burning my throat. Bodies lay everywhere, some ours, some Seraphina’s. Broken weapons were scattered across the blackened ground. The earth itself looked bruised, split open from Finn’s power and Seraphina’s dark magic.
But for the first time since the invasion began…
The battlefield was quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just waiting.
I stood in the center of it, blood on my hands and armor, ash clinging to my hair. Finn and Fia were behind me, both of them still glowing faintly, though their power had settled into a soft, dangerous hum.
Lucian sto
