Chapter 194

Elvira POV

I sat on the edge of my bed, tracing my fingers over the carved patterns of the armrest, trying to make sense of the disaster my life had become. Since the confrontation with Brielle, or rather, Lila, my mind had been a tempest.

Am I such a bad person that everyone around me turns out to be evil? I wondered, letting the words sink into the quiet room. Am I cursed so thoroughly that the very people who should protect me instead plot, betray, and lie against me? My chest tightened with the weight of it all, a lingering ache from the countless betrayals stacking on top of each other.

I barely noticed the soft knock at the door until it repeated, insistent.

“Elvira,” Cassian’s voice called through, calm but edged with urgency. “The council… it’s important. They want you there.”