"You’ve barely slept," Elias muttered as he closed the door behind him.
I didn’t turn around. I stood by the window in the war room, watching the torches flicker along the outer walls of our territory. The shadows danced like ghosts over stone and wood, and I could feel the weight of every gaze, every expectation pressing down on me like a crown made of iron.
"I didn’t come here to sleep," I said.
His footsteps were heavy but sure, always deliberate. "You came here to lead. I know." His voice lowered as he stepped beside me. "But you’re burning yourself out."
I glanced at him, searching his face. "They all expect something now, Elias. Some want me to be a symbol. Others want me to disappear."
"And what do you want?" he asked, leaning slightly against the windowsill, his shoulder brush
