Eliana
I didn't look back, even when every part of me wanted to.
My legs kept moving at the same steady pace as Kael and the sellers led us back toward the carriage. My face stayed hidden behind the mask. My hands stayed relaxed at my sides.
Only my heartbeat had changed.
Diane.
She was alive. After all these years… she was alive.
I forced myself to focus on my breathing Like nothing had happened.
Like I hadn't just seen the one person I thought I had lost forever sitting behind iron bars like she was nothing.
"Everything satisfactory?" one of the men asked Kael.
"Yes," Kael replied calmly. "The land is good."
I stayed quiet, but my ears stayed open.
Always listening.
"Work is steady here," the younger man continued. "We keep things organized. No trouble."
No trouble. I almost laughed at that.
My fingers pressed slightly into my palm inside my gloves, but my steps never slowed.
