Selene POV
The night after the battle was painfully quiet. The kind of silence that presses against your chest until you can hear the sound of your own heartbeat. Outside, the trees swayed softly, whispering secrets only the moon could hear. But even the moon seemed distant tonight, veiled behind thin clouds as though mourning the dead that slept beneath the soil.
We had won, at least for now. The Gate was closed, the shadow that wore my face had been consumed by its own darkness and the forest was still again. Yet, deep beneath that stillness, I could feel it. Something ancient stirring in the earth's veins, like a pulse beneath the grave of the forgotten.
Lucian stood at the edge of the clearing, his shoulders tense, his golden eyes fixed on the horizon. The faint glow of the torches painted his features in bronze and shadow, a warrior bathed in moonlight.
"It's over," Darius murmured beside him, though even his tone carried uncertainty.
