✦ Chapter 34✦
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Sunlight was the first thing Elian became aware of.
It poured over him in a blinding warmth, so brilliant that he instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes. For a long moment, he stayed like that, suspended between sleep and waking, until the light softened and his vision slowly adjusted. When he finally lowered his arm, a quiet breath escaped him.
He stood in a palace garden.
Not the cold stone corridors he remembered, nor the hushed rooms heavy with secrets, but a place alive with color and warmth. The air shimmered beneath a high, radiant sun, and flowers bloomed in careless abundance—petals spilling over one another in hues so vivid they seemed unreal. Tall trees stood in gentle rows, their leaves whispering softly as a breeze passed through them. Bees drifted lazily from blossom to blossom, butterflies dancing in slow, unhurried arcs, as though time itself had loosened its grip.
Here, there was no pain.
