The leaves were still rustling where Seraphina had fallen moments ago, the echo of her shocked gasp and my squad's disbelief lingering like static in the air. I had just pulled my team away from her, leaving the proud elven princess stunned, flushed, and inexplicably free.
I didn't look back. I didn't need to.
But I knew she was watching. I could feel her violet eyes on my back, a mixture of burning fury, profound confusion, and a dangerous, nascent curiosity.
The march back to the fortress was suffocatingly silent. No one dared to speak, to ask the question that was screaming in their minds: What did you whisper to her? Not even Layla, our stoic commander, broke the silence. They simply followed me, their trust in my strategic acumen now at war with their own bewildered senses.
