The first thing Selene felt was silence.

Not the peaceful kind that wrapped the world in calm, but the heavy silence of a place where screams had recently lived. It pressed against her chest, smothering, like the air itself carried the memory of battle.

Her eyes flickered open, fighting against the weight of exhaustion. At first, everything blurred—the faint glow of firelight, the rough stone ceiling above her, the sharp scent of herbs burning. Then sound returned: hushed voices, footsteps ...