Kora’s POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Aaron’s reflection staring back at me from the river—his voice sliding into my thoughts like oil on water, dark and slick. I tried to convince myself it wasn’t real, that it was some leftover trauma from the void, but deep down, I knew better.
Something inside me had changed.
The next morning, I found Edward already awake. He stood on the balcony, shirtless, the cold biting at his skin, but he didn’t seem to feel it. His shoulders were tense, his eyes fixed on the woods beyond the estate.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” I asked quietly, wrapping my shawl tighter around me as I stepped out.
He turned slightly, his expression softening when he saw me. “The patrols found strange tracks near the eastern border,” he said. “
