Three days later…
Wandova loomed.
High stone walls carved into the horizon, watchtowers cutting into the sky, banners snapping in the wind .
The city didn't rise gently, it stood, imposing.
It should have meant safety, but to Eiravyne It didn't.
The road leading to its gates was crowded, far more than it should have been.
Carriages lined in uneven rows, travelers shifting restlessly, voices low, movements tense.
Guards stood at the entrance in doubled ranks.
Each person was measured. Each cart slowed. Some were waved through quickly. Others… weren't.
Theodore's hand tightened in hers.
"Finally… home."
Eiravyne didn't answer.
Home.
The word landed wrong.
Memories surged, cold halls, watching eyes, the weight of Ilkar's presence pressing down on her chest until breathing itself felt like defiance.
This place wasn't home.
It was a cage she had once escaped.
And now she had walked back to its doors.
