Chapter 96

*Elora*

They watched me like I was a storm waiting to break.

Not a leader. Not a prisoner. Not even a wolf.

A question.

I felt it in every stare as I crossed the courtyard—rough-hewn stone under my boots, morning mist curling around the old haven-ruin like breath. This place wasn’t carved from nature; it was claimed by it. Ivy crawled the walls, moss choked the ancient arches, and the earth itself