Selene's POV
A week had passed since the war ended, and yet peace feels like a stranger wandering through the ruins.
The kingdom of Blackthorn stood but barely. The once-proud walls are cracked, the banners singed, and the air still carries the faint metallic scent of blood. Every morning, I wake to the sound of hammers echoing from the courtyards, rebuilding what the gods themselves nearly destroyed.
But no hammer can rebuild a soul.
The castle feels colder now. Its corridors, once alive with servants and laughter, whisper only rumors and unease. When I walk through them, I can hear the whispers travel like smoke, the witch who survived, the cursed one, the shadow of Lucien's corruption.
They do not say my name aloud anymore. They whisper it, as though I am a ghost who might hear them.
And maybe, I am.
