Hope
We crest the final hill, and there it is—Virelia, the royal capital. White stone towers reach toward the sky like they’re trying to scrape it clean. The palace sits at the city’s heart, crystalline and imposing, nestled behind high walls and flanked by massive iron gates. Even from this distance, I can see the royal banners flapping in the wind—deep violet threaded with gold, a lion mid-roar.
Tessa gasps beside me, pressing her face to the window.
“Why do the most beautiful places hold the ugliest souls?” she wonders out loud.
“It's alright,” Ben says with an unimpressed shrug. “My wolf would go crazy if we had to live this far from running grounds.”
I nod, though my thoughts aren’t on the city itself. My eyes catch on the soldiers posted at every corner—Enforcers in sleek black
