Chapter 134

Maren

I wake up expecting pain.

Or exhaustion. Or that hollow, scraped-out feeling like my bones are still remembering being something else.

Instead, I feel… better.

Not perfect. Not healed. But steadier. Like my body finally finished recalibrating after being flung between land, water, fire, and terror. My muscles ache in a deep, honest way, the kind that promises strength will come back if I giv