Petal's Pov

The courtyard felt eerily silent after Aslaan and Garcia left—too silent, like the world itself was holding its breath. I sat frozen on the stone edge of the well, the cold biting into my palms.

My mother.

Alive.

Somewhere out there… breathing, suffering, waiting.

Or being used.

The thought twisted in my chest until it hurt.

A gust of wind rustled through the courtyard, sending leaves tumbling across the cracked stone. Normally, I would have looked up at the sky, grounding ...