Chapter 44
Elara’s POV
The fortress at Rhyden was not what I expected. Its walls rose thick and gray against the horizon, not with the polished elegance of the palace, but with a raw sturdiness built for survival. The stone was scarred, the gates patched, and yet—when I stood upon the battlements, staring out at the distant smudge of Kael’s advancing army—it felt less like a cage and more like a heartbeat. A living, breathing bastion.
I had begged Lucien to let me ride with him to the front. He had refused, of course. His refusal hadn’t surprised me, but it stung all the same.
“You are the fire behind them,” he had said. “If I take you into the storm, I risk snuffing that flame.”
So now, I remained behind these walls while he rode out with his generals and soldiers, the echo of hooves
