"We don't know for certain," Elara said, though her tone suggested she had her suspicions. "What we do know is that the attack was surgical, precise. They killed anyone who resisted and took the strongest healers as prisoners. Those of us who escaped..." She gestured to herself. "We scattered, went into hiding. I have been moving between neutral territories ever since, trying to stay ahead of those who still hunt us."

Vera shifted uncomfortably by the door. "You are saying there are people ...