Nora’s POV
Silence never lasts.
I woke up for the second time to a sound like a tide of rocks from a distance. The light had shifted; the shadows on the wall had softened. My side ached—not the searing, tearing pain from before, but a heavy throb.
"Kade?" My voice was a whisper.
The door opened, but it wasn’t Kade.
"Open the door," a cold voice said, like a knife slicing through silk. "On the authority of the Queen's family."
The nurses and maids in the hallway looked shocked. I heard a tray clatter, a whispered, "Miss Elara—Prince Kade said—"
"Kade is just a boy in love. Do you think his mother, the Queen, knows less than you? Besides, Kade isn't King yet, and that Omega in there isn't your Queen. Do you understand who to obey now? Move!"
The bolt scraped. The door opened, and two
