The Healer’s Hall had always been a place of purpose, a sanctuary of quiet work and dedicated care. But this morning, the air inside was different, charged with something unspoken. Aria could feel it the moment she stepped through the double doors. The usual scent of antiseptic, herbs, and clean stone lingered, familiar and comforting, but there was something else now. It was a heavy silence, full of questions, of unvoiced thoughts and doubts, the kind of quiet that accompanies the aftermath of change.
She walked in, the soft fabric of her healer’s tunic gently brushing against her swollen belly. Her steps were measured, deliberate, though inside, her nerves buzzed with the memories of the previous day—the weight of Xander’s public vow, her refusal, the act of walking away from him and th
