The night was still, too still for the Citadel. Even the torches lining the marble corridor outside her chamber burned without sound. The air held that peculiar kind of quiet that followed a storm , the kind that whispered of something unfinished. Inside, Sienna lay restless beneath silk sheets that carried the faint scent of lavender and iron.
Sleep did not come easily anymore. When it did, it was a visitor that brought visions, not peace.
She turned, the coolness of the linen grazing her arm, her thoughts clawing at the memory of Lunaris’s name , the goddess of balance, of betrayal, of chains. The name tasted like moonlight and ash. It had lingered in her mind since the archive, weaving through her thoughts like a curse disguised as song.
Her pulse slowed, her breath deepened, and t
