**ELIAS POV**
For the first time in what felt like days, she slept. Truly slept—not the restless half-doze she’d been plagued with since the sorcerer’s attack, but a deep, steady breathing that signaled exhaustion had finally dragged her under. I sat beside the door of the hut, watching the faint rise and fall of her chest in the dim light.
Relief washed through me, though it carried its own weight. It meant the watch was mine alone, and I welcomed it. I had no intention of letting anything slip past while she was finally getting a bit of rest. The night outside was unnervingly quiet, the forest holding its breath as if aware of her fragile peace, and I found myself straining at every rustle, every whisper of wind, determined that nothing would disturb her sleep again.
The forest outsid
