Chapter 43 – Trial of the Heart
Seren’s POV
My body felt like it was unraveling thread by thread. The cut on my shoulder burned. My breath was shallow. But it wasn’t the wounds that had me on the edge of collapse.
It was the eyes.
Dozens of them, some glimmering with awe, others with suspicion, and still more with outright hatred. The air in the Moonspire Grounds was molten with division, whispers cutting like knives.
“She subdued him.”
“No wolf could do that.”
“She’s cursed.”
“She’s chosen.”
Every word dug into me, heavy as stones.
Elder Rhylen raised his staff, his voice cutting through the din like thunder. “The second trial is complete. She has subdued the beast and survived. Now…” His eyes lingered on me, and for the first time I swore I saw something tremble in them. “Now w
