Aurora’s POVBy the time training ended for the day, the sun had dipped behind the pines and torches flickered to life around the camp.My muscles ached.My mind buzzed with new power.But something else tugged at me—a quiet, heavy dread I couldn’t place.Zander and Rowan had both gone to check the perimeter, leaving me with Elle for a final cooldown lesson.But Elle wasn’t teaching.She sat on a fallen tree, staring into the fire like she wasn’t seeing it at all.Her shoulders sagged.Her face was pale.Her hands trembled slightly.Elle never trembled.I approached slowly.“Elle?”She didn’t respond.“Elle,” I whispered again, softer, “you’re scaring me.”Her eyes flicked up.And the emotion in them—raw, broken, haunted—made my breath catch.“Aurora…” she said, voice barely a whisper.She looked older in the firelight.Not physically — but in the way grief carves into a soul until it is older than its years.“I need to tell you something.”My heart lurched.I sat beside her gently, t
Last Updated : 2025-11-28 Read more