Moments later, the doors banged open.
Liam and the warriors returned—dragging Menar, bound and looking nothing like the fierce head warrior she once was. Her hair was matted, her face bruised, and her body so thin she looked like a shadow.
Behind her… another warrior entered, shoving forward a woman who looked twice her age—skin sallow, hair greyed prematurely, clothes stiff with dirt. Her hands shook violently.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
Elina staggered back, a hand flying to her mouth. “That’s… Amelia…” she whispered, voice cracking. “What is she doing here?” Her vision blurred. She felt like fainting.
Theo’s reaction was different. His eyes snapped to Menar—and recognition hit him like a hammer. Menar… the woman who had once fought Rina before her Luna ceremony.
He hadn’t seen
