The palace walls felt oppressive as Elena paced the room, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on her like a thousand-pound stone. The palace was still a place of grandeur, with high, vaulted ceilings and walls adorned with tapestries of battles long past. But to Elena, it all felt foreign, like she didn't belong here. She had never been part of the royal world, never part of the traditions that governed their lives. She had always been the outsider, the orphan, the one who didn't fit in.
But now, her entire existence was tied to this place, tied to Roan, to the prophecy that had cursed her. And as the days passed, the reality of what Roan had done began to sink in.
“Are you sure about this?" Elena asked, turning to Roan, who was sitting across from her, his eyes fixe
