VALERIA

For this journey, two carriages were prepared—Quinn and Celine rode in one, while Aldric and I shared the other.

Truthfully, things had been tense between us these past days. I suppose that’s inevitable when there are so many differences and secrets in a relationship.

I had thought of countless ways to resolve it, but all of them led back to the same conclusion: I needed to tell him the truth, to be honest with him.

Yet every time his hate-filled words echoed in my mind, my confidence crumbled.

Watching the forest pass by, I remembered when I used to run through these woods like a lost soul until I reached Golden Moon.

As the landscape became more and more familiar, memories of the past flooded my mind.

All the pain and humiliation I felt that night when I lost my pup.

“Are you going to keep giving me the cold shoulder forever?” A low whisper tickled the side of my neck.

I felt the weight of Aldric’s head resting on my shoulder, his long hair brushing lightly against my arm.

H