Chapter 93
Draven’s POV
The knock came again—sharp, deliberate. A sound that demanded attention rather than requested it.
I exhaled slowly, rubbing my fingers over my brow, trying to ground myself, but it did little to loosen the knot of tension coiled in my chest. The air in the room was thick enough to choke on, oppressive in a way that made every breath feel like a task. But now, with that knock, the atmosphere shifted, the weight of expectation pressing down like a storm cloud before the first crack of lightning.
Elder Mathias, seated beside me, barely moved, but I felt his gaze settle on me. When I turned to meet it, his expression was unreadable—calm, yet edged with something I couldn’t quite place. Knowledge. Expectation. A warning, perhaps.
“You should get that.” His voice
