**Elena**
Laughter echoed. Lights flickered. Music played.
I sat on a cold wooden bench like I was watching a celebration I didn’t belong to.
Because I didn’t.
Not after what happened yesterday.
Not after Xavier took the file and left without a word.
I pulled my coat tighter around me.“Are you sure you want to be here, my Queen?” Ivana asked.
No.
“Yes,” I lied.
She nodded, but not convinced.
Across the field, a couple of kids ran past, laughing with glow sticks around their necks.
Someone howled dramatically near the bonfire pit.
Others were already halfway into their second round of wine.
And somewhere in that crowd, I knew Xavier was here.
Probably with her.
“Don’t look,” I told myself.
But my eyes moved anyway, scanning.
There.
Of course.
Trisha stood near the food s
