?Chapter 1059:


    She paused, a mncholy smile crossing her lips. She shook her head gently, her voiceced with bittersweet eptance. “Makenna, each time you stood at the precipice of danger, I poured pieces of my soul into protecting you. With every intervention, my essence dims. Now, I’m fading away bit by bit…”


    My heart plummeted as if weighted by an invisible stone, and my legs gave way beneath me. I copsed to my knees before my mother’s ethereal form.


    “It’s all my fault!” I cried out, my voice raw with despair. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be fading away…”


    I buried my face in my hands as sobs wracked my body. “I’m so useless,” I choked out between gasps. “I can’t do anything right, not even protect you…”


    Yet my mother’s face showed no trace of me or resentment. Her expression remained gentle, her voice soft as a spring breeze as it reached my ears. “Makenna,


    “You’ve shown such courage. I’ve witnessed your strength through every trial. You make me proud…”


    As I opened my mouth to respond, I watched in horror as my mother’s silhouette began to blur at the edges, her voice growing fainter with each word.


    “Mother!” I cried out in panic, lunging forward with outstretched hands, but my fingers grasped only empty air.


    “Mother! Don’t go!” My desperate plea echoed in the void as her figure retreated into nothingness, dissolving like morning mist until she vanishedpletely.


    I jolted awake with a sharp gasp, my heart hammering against my ribs as reality slowly came into focus around me. I blinked, taking in my surroundings to find myself lying inside a canvas tent.


    “You’re awake!” A voice tinged with relief broke through my disorientation.


    Turning my head slowly, I saw the three princes standing beside the makeshift bed, their bloodshot eyes and haggard faces telling stories of sleepless vignce.


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    Bryan rushed forward, sping my hand in his. “Makenna, are you feeling ufortable anywhere?”


    Still caught in the hazy boundary between dreams and reality, I shook my head absently. I nced around the unfamiliar space. “Where is this?” I asked.


    Dominic massaged his temples with weary fingers, the usual spark in his eyes dimmed by exhaustion. “After you copsed, we set up this temporary shelter. If you hadn’t regained consciousness soon, we might have been forced to abandon our journey.”


    His words triggered a sudden flood of memories—events leading to my copse rushed back all at once, making my chest tighten with anxiety. I bolted upright, confusion and rm mingling as I asked urgently, “Where’s Rowell?”


    Makenna’s POV:


    When I mentioned Rowell’s name, a chill seemed to sweep over the three princes, their expressions hardening as a tense stillness fell across the tent.


    Bryan and Dominic furrowed their brows in silence, while yton took a deliberate step closer, his voice low and measured as he began, “Right then, a brilliant surge of white light erupted from you. It was blinding, radiating a force that felt almost overwhelming. Rowell didn’t even have a chance to react—he was struck down, left unconscious by its strength.”


    yton paused for a moment, his gaze softening with worry as it met mine, then pressed on, “Once Rowell copsed, the soldiers he’d brought with him fell into chaos, their discipline crumbling as panic took hold. We didn’t hesitate—we moved quickly and rounded them all up.”


    He tilted his head, a puzzled look crossing his face, and asked, “Makenna, do you have any idea what that light was?”


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