The silence was the first thing that hit her.
It wasn't the silence of the palace—that heavy, suffocating quiet where you held your breath so the guards wouldn't hear you breathing.
This was different.
This was the silence of the wild.
No whips cracking against stone.
No overseers screaming orders.
No chains rattling.
Just the wind.
The trees.
And the quiet, steady rhythm of her own heart.
Elara lay still beneath the rough blanket, staring up at the cave ceiling.
The memories of the last few days crashed over her like a wave.
The escape.
The horses thundering through the night.
The forest.
This cave.
Freedom.
The word sat in her chest, warm and terrifyingly unreal.
She sat up slowly.
The fire in the center of the cave had burned down to glowing red embers, pulsing with f
