After the meal, Livia excused herself, her body begging for rest. She made her way back to her chamber, her steps slow but steady, each one echoing with the weight of the battles she'd fought.
The moment she entered her room, the scent of fresh linen and lavender wrapped around her like a gentle embrace.
She sighed softly, her muscles screaming as she slipped out of her training clothes and stepped into the bath. The warm water soothed her aching body, washing away blood, dirt, and fatigue — but not the quiet fire still burning inside her.
That fire, the one that had been born from days of relentless training, refused to go out.
And while Livia was finding a moment of peace in her chamber, elsewhere in the Haven, the air was heavy with something far more serious.
Inside the Elders' meeting hall — a place where decisions that shaped the world were made — six figures sat around a long, polished stone table.
