Chapter 221

*Elora*

The Aethel-Bulwark wasn’t burning.

But it should’ve been.

The walls trembled with the memory of fire, each crack in the stone still glowing faintly at the seams. The air was heavy, not with haze alone but with something older—like the breath of gods pressed into the mortar, refusing to be forgotten.

I staggered to my feet in the doorway, bracing one hand against the frame as I stared out o