Chapter 41 Whispers Of The Past

• I could only breathe on the balcony.
• Cool fingers of wind ran through my hair as the night air pulled loose strands across my cheek. The tall pines below shifted like tense sentinels as the Blackthorn estate sat shrouded in shadow. The past few days looped over and over in my mind—the ambush in the woods, the murmurs of betrayal, and Kai’s name… always there. Creeping into conversations I wasn’t ready for, lingering like a ghost I’d never invited back.
• Soft footsteps came before the voice.