The estate felt different now. Not in its walls or its long hallways or the quiet hum of the guards stationed throughout, it was in the air that surrounded Amara and Damien whenever they crossed paths. It was in the way her heart skipped a beat when she caught him watching her, or how his steady gaze softened when she spoke his name. Something had shifted between them, something undeniable.
And yet, life didn’t pause for them to indulge in it. Amara woke early, slipping into her training clothes before the sun rose. Lila was already waiting in the courtyard, her stance confident, her eyes sharp. “You’re improving,” she remarked when Amara approached, “but we have a long way to go.”
Amara nodded. She wasn’t doing this just for herself anymore. She wanted to be stronger, for Damien, for Se
