★Nuel's POV★
I found myself standing before a river — wide, wild, and endlessly alive. The water rushed so fiercely that its roar filled my ears, a constant thunder that made the air tremble. It was beautiful and terrifying at once. I didn't know how I'd gotten here. One moment, I was sure I'd been somewhere else — somewhere real — and now… this.
I had never been to a place like this before. Not when I was at the Western Pack, locked away in the West Wing by my own parents after they decided I was their greatest disappointment. Not during the years I spent trying to believe I was free — when freedom had been nothing more than a cruel illusion, guarded by warriors who shadowed me day and night. I couldn't even sneak beyond the courtyard walls, not to breathe, not to see the world beyond their reach.
