#Chapter 34: Don't Go

Evelyn I was ready to leave. The carriage waited at the edge of town, its wheels creaking under the weight of my luggage and the finality of my decision. I stood beside it, cloak drawn tightly around my shoulders, the morning chill cutting through my resolve like a knife. I had told myself again and again that this was the right choice. It would be a clean exit, a quiet departure. No goodbyes. And yet, I couldn’t stop looking back. Each familiar rooftop, every scent of pine and firewood, even the rutted road leading away from the village tugged at me like roots I hadn’t known were growing. There was still so much I hadn’t said. So much I hadn’t done. And worse, so much I didn’t understand. Emma’s strange accusations, the rogue’s death I had heard about in whispers from the nurses in the medical wing, and the air of danger that never quite left. The driver adjusted the reins. "Shall we, miss?" I opened my mouth to say yes, but the words never came. Because at th