Chapter 52
Echoes Beneath the Moon
The night was unusually still, the kind of silence that pressed against the skin, heavy and expectant. The ridge stretched out in pale silver beneath the watchful gaze of the moon, shadows draping themselves across the valley like a cloak. The whisper of the wind through the pines carried with it a lingering chill, and somewhere in the distance, an owl called—a solitary, mournful sound that made the darkness feel alive.
Elena stood at the edge of the clearing, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the forest melted into the mountains. The air smelled of damp earth and pine needles, sharp and grounding, but her mind was far from steady. She could still feel the tremor in her hands, the ghost of Damien’s touch lingering on her skin as though he had branded
