(Third person point of view)
Elara tightened her grip on the reins as the wind howled through the narrow mountain pass, whispering secrets she couldn't yet decipher. The journey had been long, each mile carrying her farther from the city she had called home, deeper into the unknown. She had spent years navigating court intrigue, hiding her true nature, balancing on the knife's edge of survival—but this was different. There were no walls, no corridors to slink through in silence. Here, the world stretched infinitely before her, demanding she take up space within it.
She glanced sideways at Cairon. He rode beside her, his gaze sharp despite the steady exhaustion in his posture. He had barely slept since they left, his mind undoubtedly running through a hundred different outcomes, each worse than the last. The weight of what they carried between them—unspoken truths, lingering mistrust, and an undeniable pull—sat heavy in the cool night air.
