Elara's POV
I’m trapped.
Hours pass in numb silence. I can’t even cry. I feel so empty. I try to sleep but keep startling awake at every sound outside. Around midnight, exhaustion finally takes over, and I doze fitfully on the couch with Luna curled against my chest.
I wake to the soft creak of my front door opening.
My eyes snap open, my heart hammering. Luna tenses in my arms, but she doesn’t hiss or run—which means whoever is entering isn’t a threat to her.
Two figures slip into my home like shadows. In the dim moonlight filtering through the windows, I can just make out their shapes.
“Selene?” I whisper.
“Shh,” comes Daciana’s voice. “The guards are out cold, but we don’t have long.”
I sit up carefully, still holding Luna.
“What are you doing here?”
Selene moves to my front
