Pauline's POV
This place looked completely transformed from my last visit.
Before, dust had choked the air and everything felt abandoned. Now the atmosphere was crystalline, almost sacred.
The ancient trees remained standing like sentinels, their roots still gripping the earth with fierce determination. But their bark gleamed as if someone had lovingly restored each weathered surface, erasing years of battle scars.
I moved slowly through the space, drawing in air that felt both lighter and somehow more significant than I remembered. When I reached the clearing, my pulse stuttered at the sight of guests already seated in neat rows.
One chair sat conspicuously vacant.
My heart performed an idiotic little leap of relief.
I ducked my head, hoping to slip in unnoticed. Arnold had bailed at the last minute, some urgent business trip to a neighboring territory. The poor man was still clawing his way up the corporate hierarchy and couldn't afford to anger his boss.
