Chapter 60 : End of Innocence
The morning mist clung to the trees like they'd forgotten how to let go.
The dirt road stretched out ahead of them, damp and glistening from the night's drizzle. Birds chirped overhead with a kind of judgmental cheer, and somewhere in the distance, something howled.
Probably just an overly dramatic squirrel.
Elias adjusted the reins on their borrowed horse—courtesy of the general, who had ominously declared it a "creature of war" despite its fluffy mane and habit of stopping to eat every third leaf.
Behind him, slumped against his back, was a small, warm weight—Rhea, dozing quietly. She had one arm around his waist and her cheek pressed against his shoulder. Her breath tickled his collarbone.
Elias didn't dare move too much. Not because she'd wake up and roast him, but because... he didn't want to disturb her peace.
Not after what she remembered.
Not after the name.
Revantra.
The name echoed in his mind like thunder trapped in a jar.
But the girl behind him? The one clinging to his side, drooling just slightly onto his shirt?