The decision wasn't made in a war room. It was made in the silence of my own chest.
I looked at the line of creatures waiting at the treeline. They were shivering, not from cold, but from the spiritual exhaustion of existing in a world that wanted to crush them.
Adrien’s hand was still tight on my arm. "Elara, you are barely standing."
"I can't just leave them, Adrien," I whispered. "I see them. They aren't monsters. They're just... unraveled."
"If you drain yourself," Maelle warned, stepping closer, "you become vulnerable. The Council is watching."
"Let them watch," I said. I pulled away from Adrien gently, turning to face him. I reached up and touched his cheek.
"You told me that wolves guard the territory. Well, I'm a Weaver. I guard the threads. And right now, the threads are sc
