Selene POV
After Alora left the consultation chamber, her gratitude still clinging to the air like a fragile blessing, As she left, gratitude heavy in her eyes, I remained alone, staring into the moonwater as its surface stilled, because beneath all the joy and planning and healing, the quiet pull returned stronger than before, whispering that while I was tending to the lives of others, something unseen was already preparing to demand the next piece of me, and I could feel it pressing closer, patient and inevitable, waiting for the moment when balance would decide that what I had given so far was no longer enough and that the next price would be collected from the part of my life I had just begun to believe might finally be safe.
