Elara’s POV
The fortress had begun to feel different.
Not hostile. Not unwelcoming.
But aware.
It was in the way conversations dimmed when I entered a room. In the way warriors straightened instinctively if Kael so much as crossed a threshold. In the way the air itself seemed to shift around him, subtle and invisible, yet undeniably present.
At first, I thought it was hierarchy. Power. Discipline.
Now, I wasn’t so sure.
That afternoon, I took the lower path beyond the stone courtyards, ignoring the guard who hesitated when I dismissed him. I told myself I needed air. Space. Distance from the constant feeling that I was being studied without being told why.
The snow was thinner along the southern ridge, packed firm from patrol routes. Pine trees towered overhead, their branches heav
