Celeste Point of View
As I crossed into the woods that lived within the Grand Oak, all strength of speech left me.
I could not form a single word.
Not aloud.
Not within.
For even here—within a realm meant to shelter and conceal—
I could still feel him.
August.
Through the bond that refused to break.
Each breath I drew carried him with it, each step I took tethered me still to the very man I now fled.
I had been foolish.
Foolish to believe that fate would favor me differently… that it would grant me a path untouched by the sorrow my sisters had endured.
Foolish to hope—
That I would not fail where they had suffered.
My steps slowed, my heart heavy within my chest as my thoughts turned against me.
Why did he believe silence would save us?
Why did he think withholding truth c
