Elias's POV

I stood back a few feet, giving her the space she needed. I watched her silhouette against the darkening sky. She looked so small, so fragile standing before her mother’s grave. My heart ached for her. I had spent so much of my life focused on power and control that I had forgotten what it felt like to simply mourn.

When she finally turned around, her eyes were red and swollen, her face flushed like a child who had been crying for hours. She looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read—a mixture of gratitude, exhaustion, and something deeper.

Before I could ask if she was...