Elara’s POV
We were still on the journey.
The forest stretched endlessly before us, the path winding and uncertain.
The silence pressed in from all sides, broken only by the rustle of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig beneath my boots.
It was unsettling, this quiet, like the world itself was waiting for something to happen.
I usually wished to go on adventures but not like this.
Kael walked beside me, his presence a steady force in the chaos of my thoughts.
His sharp eyes scanned our surroundings, always alert, always calculating. I had grown used to his watchful gaze, but I knew better than to think it was just for my sake. Kael didn’t trust the forest, not the journey ahead.
I couldn’t blame him.
After everything that had happened, after everything I had seen, I still
