Chapter 27
Elara’s POV
The palace at night was a labyrinth of silence and shadow. Elara moved through it like a whisper, her heart hammering with every step.
Selene had helped her. Not openly, not in words, but in actions: a turned back here, a delayed patrol there, the faintest nod when Elara lingered too long by the outer courtyard gates. The commander never said, Go, but she didn’t need to. Elara understood.
She pulled her hood lower over her face, every nerve alive with the danger of what she was doing. If Lucien discovered her absence, fury would rain down upon her. But he wasn’t here, and she couldn’t wait any longer. Not when the truth was so close she could taste it.
The message about the midwife had consumed her. Every hour since she’d found it had been torture, questions gna
