Elara’s POV
The ride felt like it would never come to an end, even though Kael didn't slow down the horses for once and the wind against my skin should have been enough to keep me awake. However, the exhaustion I felt was very different; it felt like my body was still trying to recover from something I didn’t fully understand.
I stayed where he had placed me, held securely against his chest, one arm wrapped around me. The other guided the reins with a control that didn’t falter even as the path narrowed into rough, uneven forest trails, and I could feel the tension in him without needing the bond to tell me it was there, sharp and coiled like something waiting for the next threat to reveal itself.
No one spoke.
Not Kael, not Aria riding just ahead of us, not the warriors flanking ou
