THE STRANGER’S HOLD
Elara’s POV
The courtyard was oddly alive with chatter, laughter, and the metallic scrape of practice blades from the training grounds nearby. Students as usual moved in groups.. brushing past each other with conversations that were more of gossips spilling into the air. And yet, for me.. everything felt muted and different, almost like I was trapped.. standing inside a glass box.
The mirror-shadow incident had crawled over and under my skin making goosebumps form in my body each time I saw my reflection.
Even now, hours later, I could still feel it.. an echo of cold breath whispering in my ear, the weight of that voice curling around my name like a python. I couldn’t escape it, not even in daylight.
The necklace pressed against my chest like a living thing, heav
