A Y L A
I couldn’t breathe.
The air inside that tent felt too thick, too heavy, pressing against my skin until my instincts screamed at me to move. I turned abruptly and stepped back, then out, the curtain falling behind me with a soft but final rustle.
Cool forest air rushed into my lungs. I gulped it down like I’d been drowning.
“This is forbidden,” I said, the words leaving me sharper than I intended. My hands trembled at my sides as I took a few steps away, putting distance between myself and that tent, as if distance alone could erase what I had seen.
Footsteps followed.
Draven emerged a moment later, calm as ever, his expression unreadable. “That’s what they want you to believe.”
I spun to face him. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not just belief. It’s law. It’s… who we a
