ELLIE’S POV
The morning after, I found my way to the training yard at first light, staff balanced unsteadily in my hands. The dawn mist curled around me like a shroud.
He approached quietly, voice low:
“Come with me,” Jovani said.
I blinked. He waited just past the edge of the field, where the treeline crept close to the training grounds. His arms were crossed, expression calm, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. He didn’t like asking twice.
I wiped my palms down the sides of my trousers. “Where?”
“Patrol,” he said. “Just to observe. See something beyond stone walls.”
“I’m not a fighter,” I said flatly.
“I know,” he replied. “But you still need to see what we’re up against.”
I hesitated. My stomach was already twisting. The last time I crossed the walls of Moonshade, I r
