Aurelia POV
By the time Ragnar returned to the square, the crowd already condemned me.
I could feel it in the air, thick and suffocating, the way judgment settles over a person before they've even had the chance to speak. Selina kept a firm grip on my arm, trying to guide me away from the center of the gathering, but the crowd had shifted, closing around us in a loose, uneven circle that made retreat nearly impossible.
"She followed the Luna the moment she collapsed."
"Trying to touch her like that. It's unnatural."
"I heard she stole the moonstone necklace too."
"Cursed. That's what she is. Cursed."
The word rippled through the gathering, passed from mouth to mouth until it took on a life of its own, gathering weight and certainty with each repetition. I kept my eyes forward, refus
