Elara’s POV
“Send Ava to bring her meal upstairs. She is too tired to come down.”
The voice reached me through the haze of sleep, firm but quiet.
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
Then I opened my eyes.
The ceiling above me was unfamiliar only for a second before memory returned. Kael’s room. Training. The ache in my muscles.
I shifted slightly and winced. Every part of me felt as though it had been stretched beyond its limit. My arms protested even the smallest movement.
“Kael?” I said, my voice soft, almost questioning.
He stood near the door, speaking briefly to someone outside before closing it. When he turned toward me, his expression softened just slightly.
“You should still be asleep,” he said as he crossed the room.
I pushed myself upright anyway.
He reached me in
