Leona’s POV
The forest was quiet, the kind of stillness that seemed to wrap around her like a blanket, soothing yet heavy. Leona sat on a fallen log, her eyes tracing the path of the setting sun through the trees. The golden light spilled across the ground in long, lazy beams, casting shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly. The world was quiet, but inside her mind, everything felt anything but.
Leona had spent so many hours in this place over the past few days, seeking refuge from the thoughts that had started to consume her. The mansion had been destroyed, the curse broken, but she felt no relief. If anything, she felt more lost than ever.
She had learned a lot over the past months—about herself, her past, the darkness that had followed her for so long. The mansion had always been th
