The garden was drenched in the warm, golden glow of the setting sun, casting long shadows across the manicured paths and flowerbeds. Riverstone was vast—bigger than anything Ember had ever known. The grounds stretched endlessly, dotted with fields and streams that seemed to whisper freedom. For the first time in her life, she felt it—the exhilarating, terrifying freedom of being truly unbound. She could move, breathe, shift, train—be herself—without her father’s oppressive gaze weighing her down.
A small movement caught her eye: a sleek, black cat slinking along the edge of the garden. Ember’s heart softened in an instant. She had always been a fan of cats, secretly longing for one, yet her father had always snuffed out even the simplest of wishes. He would have treated a humble desire as
