Chapter 97 To Be Seen

• *Xelina*
• Lazlo rides behind me as the stars shine overhead, his presence steady as the reins in his hands. Behind us, the forest still glows faintly with the blessing that saved me, a testament to the power that watches over my path.
• I no longer wear the mask, but its memory clings to me, not as a shackle, but as a symbol that I am no longer a servant cloaked in silence. I ride toward Virechant not as a prisoner returned, but as a woman reborn.