Chapter 23. At Moonlit Lake

The stronghold slept.

Behind its stone walls and vaulted arches, the fortress exhaled into darkness. Mira followed Kaelen like a shadow cut from his own, her bare feet brushing the cold floor as they moved through a narrow side passage. The air changed as they moved deeper—from the perfume of stone and smoke to something colder, sharper, cleaner. A breath of wildness waiting beyond the walls.

When the final door creaked open, and they stepped into the open night, Mira drew in a long, involuntary breath.

The world outside was wide again. The wind rolled down from the mountains, cold and biting, scented with pine and distant snow. Above them, the stars bled silver through a thin mist, and the full moon hung like a guardian watching silently from her throne. Far below, the valley spread in endless folds—a land forgotten by walls, untouched by protocol, still wild where the rest of the world had been tamed.

She didn’t speak. Neither did Kaelen. Their silence was