Killian's pov
Something had changed in her.
I'd been training Elara for a few weeks now, and the change in her was impossible to ignore.
It was subtle at first...the way she stopped flinching at the sound of a blade leaving its scabbard, or the way she kept her chin high when the wind whipped across the yard.
She was still that shy, soft spoken girl we'd brought here, yes, but there was a new kind of fire growing in her eyes.
And then there were the marks.
The high collar of her training tunic couldn't quite hide the darkening bruises on the side of her neck. It was definitely from Lucian but instead of asking, I kept my mouth short.
No need making things harder for her by bringing it up and it's not like there's anything I could do to change it.
I stopped the exercise and lowered my wooden sword.
"Hey. Stop for a second. Your head isn't in this."
She didn't look up, just stood there staring at the grass, gripping her practice staff.
