Sage stepped outside, the night air hitting her like a shock. She needed space...anything to escape the suffocating weight of the confrontation she had just endured.
The echoes of Jason’s words, his calm dismissal, still rang in her ears, gnawing at her pride and stirring the anger that had been simmering beneath the surface for too long.
Her feet carried her almost instinctively toward the training grounds, the familiar path toward the edge of the woods providing a small, grounding sense of direction. The shadows of the trees stretched long and dark under the stars, and she leaned against one of the taller trunks, drawing in a shaky breath.
For a moment, she tried to still herself, to pull her ragged thoughts together. But the effort was too much. Frustration, hurt, and the sting of be
