C16 BROKEN HEARTS

The forest trembled with howls.

The cries of rogues drifted through the night like a storm of broken souls, vibrating through Elara’s bones. Each scream felt aimed at her, as though every shadow in the woods knew she was the flame-bearer, the prophecy incarnate.

But it wasn’t their voices that tore her apart.

It was Damon’s eyes.

That flicker of terror. That single step backward