Zane
We did not go far at first. Elariana was still too new to all of this. To the strength. To the bond. To the fact that she no longer had to calculate every step as if a blow might come next. I could see her observing everything. Not frightened. Not hunched in on herself. Carefully. Like someone learning how to exist in a space without immediately wanting to run. That alone was progress.
We moved slowly through the corridors. I did not rush her. I did not take her hand. I did not guide her forward. We walked side by side, close enough for her to feel my presence, but not so close that she would feel trapped. The bond was there between us anyway. Quiet. Steady.
“This is the inner courtyard,” I said when we stepped into the wider open space.
A few wolves were working there. Not fighti
