Chapter 94 - Back in the Enemy's Lair

As the carriage rattled over the rocky road approaching the Silver Talon estate, Aryana sat with her hands clutched tightly in her lap. With a great sadness in her chest, she stared through the small window as the grand palace of Arcanis gradually faded into the distance. Nothing had prepared her for the pain of finality that seized her heart, even though she had always known that this day would arrive, that she would be sent off to marry and leave behind the life she knew. The palace that had been her refuge, where she had played as a child, and where she had remained tough as a princess now seemed like a faraway dream. She turned her eyes to the far-off mountains and the caverns they contained. She and her sisters had gathered, laughed, and exchanged secrets in the hallowed Heart of Arcanis, but it was gone. Her beloved sisterhood was shattered and dispersed, she was now by herself. She fought the desire to cry and blinked them back. Right now, she couldn't afford to be weak.