ELLIE’S POV
The hush of the garden was a welcome silence.
After the weight of the council gathering, after standing in the hall where the walls seemed to press in with judgment and Beta Dane’s icy glare lingered even after I left. I had needed something real, something simple, something that wouldn’t look at me like I was a threat or a spy, or a time bomb waiting to go off.
I needed to breathe.
Maela hadn’t said a word after the council. She didn’t offer comfort or ask questions. She only pressed a worn basket into my hands and led me behind the healing quarters, to the garden I hadn’t yet seen.
“Come,” she said softly. “Help me gather for tomorrow’s salves.”
That was all.
And I was grateful.
The Crimson Fang garden wasn’t manicured or pristine like the Moonshade greenhouse used to
