-Ashes-
We all sat around the big table with a map in the center. I hadn’t let go of Laelia since she arrived and had not given her a seat of her own. So, she was sitting on my lap while everyone else, covered in bandages, sat around us.
The atmosphere was thick with tension as everyone observed Laelia. Despite this, she seemed unshaken. I knew they all had numerous questions, and some might even suspect she had been hiding intentionally. I was certain that wasn’t the case.
“How?” Will finally inquired.
His voice was dark and edged, reflecting the strain of the recent battle we had nearly lost. We still had another fight ahead, and although Pymyrth’s intervention had pushed Richard’s army back, it didn’t guarantee our success when we faced them again.
“I didn’t hide,” Laelia replie
