55

Kira's pov

The room is quiet, too quiet. A single lamp hums above, its light barely illuminating the edges of the mahogany desk and the cracked photo frame beside it. I sit in the chair like it might collapse beneath me,stiff, guarded, palms resting on my knees like I'm bracing for war.

But this war isn't out there anymore. It's right here, within these four walls, and the battlefield is my soul.

Eira walks in slowly, arms crossed over her chest, expression unreadable. She doesn't sit. She doesn't speak. Just watches me with those sharp, stormy eyes like she's waiting for me to blink first.

I glance down at my arm, at the faded scars running across my skin like a roadmap to everything I survived. The memory of how I got them stings more tonight than it ever has.

"Draven saved me," I begin, voice hoarse. "That night, when I thought everything was lost... he pulled me out."