Chapter 137

*Elora*

The world always goes quiet before it begins to circle.

After the sigil formed—after the spiral of violet light declared that the gate still breathed—I expected a shattering. Some dramatic upheaval of earth or magic or sky. Instead, what followed was silence. Not the comforting kind, but the kind that watches. The kind that waits.

That was three days ago.

Since then, the forest had gro