Chapter 54: Seems we’re Alone
Griesla fell into step beside him with effortless grace, her pale skirts brushing the dirt in whispering folds.
The delicate ruby chain around her neck shimmered as a stray beam of sunlight pierced through the drifting dust, scattering crimson light against her throat
Together, she and Jusin moved toward the gate, their strides mismatched at first, his heavy and reluctant, hers measured and purposeful, but gradually syncing as they passed through the last row of pens.
Their figures began to diminish against the stretch of fences, outbuildings, and low wooden awnings, two silhouettes framed by the slow swirl of dust kicked up by their boots.
The further they went, the more the hold seemed to fold in around them, absorbing them into its quiet rhythm until they disappeared beyond the gate’s wooden arch.
The gate clanged shut behind Jusin and Griesla with a heavy finality, the sound reverberating through the dusty air, leaving Alex and Inolda standing in the quiet expanse of Elaris Hold’s animal enclosures.
The last echoes of the gate’s rattle faded, swallowed by the deeper sounds of the compound, the soft snorts and whinnies of the two-horned horses, the faint shuffle of hooves against the straw bedding, and the occasional rustling of hay as smaller creatures moved in their pens.
Despite the life around them, a new stillness settled between them, almost palpable, like the calm before a storm.
Alex turned to Inolda, the soles of his boots scraping lightly against the rough earth as he shifted his stance.