All Chapters of Steel And Saddle : Chapter 11 - Chapter 12

Elira’s body crumpled to the floor, blood seeping from the wound in her shoulder. The safehouse was in chaos—Gabrielle screaming orders, Dante dragging the assassin’s body away after he had shot him, rebels scrambling to hide in confusion.Gabrielle knelt beside Elira, pressing a cloth to the injury. "Stay with me," she whispered.Elira’s eyes fluttered, her breath shallow. "I didn’t know he’d send someone," she murmured. "I thought he’d wait."Her voice faded. Darkness took her.She awoke in the candlelit chamber beneath the old library, the flickering light casting shadows across her face. Her shoulder throbbed, bandaged tightly. She held a faded photograph in her hands—her family, frozen in time. Her father, Varek, stood tall in a tailored suit, his expression stern. Her mother, Lysa, wore a tight smile, her eyes distant. Between them, a young Elira smiled brightly, unaware of the legacy she would inherit.Varek had been one of the city’s wealthiest businessmen, a man who believed