Chapter 109

* Elora*

I woke to silence.

Not peace. Not calm. Just the kind of silence that feels like something had been scraped clean. The stone beneath me was still hot, still pulsing faintly, but the flames had died. No spiral. No chant. No power coiling through my limbs like a leash tightening with each breath.

Just me.

And the ash.

I pushed myself up slowly, my arms trembling under the weight of whatever