(Kaelan’s POV)
The morning air cut through my skin as I stood on the balcony. The wind from the sea carried that salty scent mixed with the city’s fog. Usually it calmed me—reminding me of long nights patrolling the edge of Elaria’s forest. But this morning, the cold outside was nothing compared to the chill crawling inside my chest.
Rhea’s words still kept looping in my head, echoing over and over like a cruel mantra.
“I’m more afraid of you than anything out there.”
Her voice, the tone, the way her eyes trembled… they all pierced deeper than any enemy’s claws.
My hand clenched the iron railing. It squealed, and the metal bent slightly under my grip. I could snap it with one shove. But what I really wanted to crush was this helplessness—the kind no war or bloodshed had ever managed t
