The cold wind bit at my skin, but it couldn’t freeze the boiling anger inside me. I paced across the clearing, my mind in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Elias stood a few feet away, arms crossed, his expression cold and unreadable.
"This isn’t how it should be," I muttered, clenching my fists. "We shouldn’t be on the verge of war. This isn’t what I want."
"You’re wrong," Elias’s voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding. "Magnus has already declared war, whether we like it or not. He won’t stop until we’re either destroyed or we destroy him first."
I turned to face him, my breath shallow as my chest tightened. "And you think that’s the only way?" I asked, my voice rising. "We can’t just keep fighting, Elias! There has to be another way, a way to find peace."
"Peace?" Elias
