The training grounds were quiet, bathed in the soft gold of the setting sun. Ella stood alone, her body aching, skin slick with sweat, breath shallow from a full day of pushing herself past her limits. Every movement she’d made was an attempt to outrun the chaos in her heart—the past she couldn’t change, the pain she carried, and the growing pull between her and Damian.
But no amount of training could silence the storm inside her.
“Ella.”
She turned sharply, startled by the familiar voice. Lucian stood behind her—steady, tall, his presence like a steady flame in the dark. There was something different in his eyes tonight. A quiet weight.
She managed a tired smile. “Lucian... I didn’t expect you here.”
He stepped closer, his aura calm, his voice careful. “I needed to talk. I couldn’t k
