Chapter 26: Echoes in Stone
Elara’s POV
The walk back to the fortress felt unreal.
My legs moved, but my mind remained in that clearing beneath the moon. Every step through the snow replayed the same impossible image in my head.
Kael’s body bending.
Bones breaking.
Fur spreading across his skin.
And those golden eyes watching me even after the transformation was complete.
I pressed my fingers against my temple as if that might erase the memory.
It didn’t.
The fortress gates loomed ahead through the trees.
Tall.
Ancient.
Unmovable.
Before tonight, they had seemed intimidating but ordinary. Just stone walls protecting a territory ruled by a powerful man.
Now they felt different.
Now I knew the truth hiding behind those walls.
This was not a fortress.
It was
