Elsbeth.
I could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on me, heavier than any crown ever could. My body was still trembling from the heat of the battle, but it was not just the physical toll that weighed on me—it was the gnawing, suffocating fear that I couldn't shake. I had faced Julia. I had defeated her. But the cost of that victory... I didn't know what it was yet.
I clung to Fen's side as we stumbled through the smoke-filled tunnel, the remains of the battle still burning in the air. The flames, the heat, the destruction—Julia's final screams echoed in my mind, and I couldn't rid myself of the image of her twisted form consumed by fire. But in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't over. The Watcher, that presence, was still there, a shadow haunting me, waiting to strike again.
