#Chapter 166 – Tentative Hope

Lila The forest closed in around us, a blur of dark trunks and shadowed undergrowth broken by Ronan’s pounding footsteps. My body jostled with every stride, too limp to resist, my head lolling against the solid weight of his chest. The air tasted like smoke even here, away from the palace, and each shallow breath scorched my throat raw. Somewhere behind us, faint but unmistakable, came the distant echo of chaos: the panicked shouts of guards, the clang of bells, the low thunder of some part of it all collapsing in flames. The fire was still raging. I tried to speak, but the sound caught in my chest and dissolved into a cough. Ronan shifted me higher in his arms, murmuring something low, too soft to catch. His voice was steady, but his heartbeat thudded hard beneath my ear, betraying the urgency to get us farther away as quickly as possible. The world swam in and out of focus. Branches reached like skeletal hands to block our path. The sky above was a gray-black sme