Selina’s mind churned with the heavy implications of the conversation. The camp’s embers still glowed against the night, their light dancing on her restless thoughts. She lay awake on her thin bedroll, the tension coiled tight inside her. Roman’s cold calculations and the whispered promise of destiny—her destiny—echoed in her ears. The revelation that she was more than a soldier, that she was being maneuvered as a crucial piece in a dangerous game, left her caught between loyalty and survival.
Before dawn, as a haze of early mist blanketed the camp, Selina slipped out of her tent. The cool air stung her cheeks as she moved silently along the perimeter, retracing her steps from the night before. Every rustle of leaves, every distant call of a nocturnal creature, reminded her that each mome
