Previously...
Lenora saw the truth unravel behind her eyes.
"And now look at you," Lenora whispered. "Sneaking through the kingdom. Like a thief. Like a coward. You should be ashamed of yourself. Why don't you pass on the power to someone more worthy of it?"
The illusion cracked again—cheekbone shifting too fast, hair flickering unnaturally.
___
The smoke parted like a curtain pulled by fate itself, revealing Esme standing silent in the clearing—unarmed, unflinching, and cloaked in quiet defiance.
Lenora stepped forward with the kind of grace born from violence, her boots crushing ash beneath them. Her eyes glinted, red and savage, and her blade hummed at her side like a loyal dog eager to bite.
"It was about time we met face to face," Lenora purred, voice low and curling like a serpent around Esme's composure. "The little ghost finally shows herself. How quaint."
