Ella
The training grounds were quiet when I arrived, but my mind was anything but.
My body was still tense from last night—frustration, confusion, and something else I couldn’t name knotted in my chest. The nightmare still clung to me, and the memory of Nikolai catching me sneaking out made my face burn with embarrassment. I needed a distraction, something to ground me.
Training was supposed to do that.
But the moment I laid eyes on Morgana, everything else flew out of my mind.
I stopped in my tracks, my brows furrowing.
She looked… younger.
Yesterday, she had been a tall, elegant woman with piercing silver eyes and an air of ancient power. Today, she looked no older than a thirteen-year-old girl.
Her long, silver-white hair was braided neatly down her back, and her o
