Elara
The castle gates opened slowly as Xavier and I returned. The guards bowed low, not questioning our early morning arrival. We had left under the excuse of scouting rogue activity near the borderlands. In truth, the journey had been far more than a patrol—it had been a step deeper into everything I feared.
We said nothing as we rode side by side.
The silence between us was no longer cold. It pulsed with something else now. A quiet tension that came from unspoken truths, from wounds that hadn’t healed and secrets I wasn’t ready to share. Xavier’s eyes kept flicking toward me, but he didn’t ask questions. Not anymore. He simply watched.
I wished he wouldn't.
Every glance felt like a thread unraveling my disguise.
Nova was silent too, but I could feel her unease.
"He's beginning to
