[: 3rd POV :]
Melira's heart pounded in her chest like a relentless drum, each beat echoing the fear she could barely contain.
Her violet eyes searched Sylvene's golden, tear-streaked ones, desperation clawing at her throat.
Every second stretched into an eternity, the air around them thick with unspoken dread.
"What… what happened? Where is he?" Melira asked, her voice trembling, though her usual icy composure tried—and failed—to hold firm.
Her hands clenched tightly on the edge of the ornate table in front of her, knuckles whitening.
Sylvene's eyes, usually calm and unreadable, flickered with an uncharacteristic panic.
Her lips quivered, and her hands shook as if the weight of the revelation threatened to crush her very being.
Melira leaned forward, heart threatening to burst.
Her voice rose, sharp and commanding despite the tremor beneath it.
"Tell me… now! Where is my son? What is happening to him?"
Sylvene swallowed hard, the sound almost painful.
