{AURORA'S POV}
The stables were silent, only filled with the restless snorts of horses, hooves shifting against the stone floor, and the buckling of leather straps as we saddled up. Kai tightened the straps around his horse, Vivienne was busy sharpening her daggers, Eden checked the packs, and Theo busied himself with the reins, calm and focused, as if the journey ahead were nothing more than routine.
My hands shook as I tightened the girth on my horse. No matter how I tried to steady them, the tremor wouldn't stop. The cold, gnawing weight in my chest only grew heavier with each passing moment.
We were riding to Heron.
The capital. The heart of the Kingdom.
And no matter how I turned it over in my mind, I couldn't silence the thought that some of us—or all of us—might never come back.
The memories came flooding back again.
Mira's desperate cries.
My parents' execution.
The defeated look on Iris's face before the lightning devoured her whole while I watched.
