Chapter 126: The Price of Peace
The celebration had long since ended, but the echoes of laughter and quiet weeping still clung to the wind like old memories. Liana stood atop the stone balcony of what was once the Council's Citadel, now repurposed as a temporary sanctuary. The stars above had returned to their places in the sky, as if the world itself had exhaled after holding its breath for too long.
She tightened the shawl around her shoulders, even though she felt no cold. The silence of a world no longer screaming was almost louder than the chaos had been.
Behind her, soft footsteps padded closer.
"You should rest," Rowan said gently, stepping beside her. "You haven't slept since the final surge."
Liana didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were fixed on the forest beyond, where a group of hybrid children were planting something in the earth—new harmony trees, born from the magic of the surviving stones.
"I don't know how," she finally whispered.
