The morning after the ritual, the air was thick with silence, the kind of silence that spoke volumes. Zahra sat at the edge of the temple’s ruined altar, her fingers tracing the jagged stones beneath her. The light of dawn filtered through the broken walls, casting long shadows across the ancient ruins, but something was different now. The curse that had defined her life for so long was no more, and with it, an unsettling quiet had descended on her soul.
Kael was by her side, his presence unwavering as always. His eyes, though filled with concern, held a quiet pride in them. He hadn’t let go of her since the ritual, as though afraid she might vanish into the same shadows that had once haunted her.
“You did it,” he repeated, his voice low, as if still in disbelief. “You broke the curse, Z
