By the time Elara returned from the war room, the sun was already sinking behind the mountains.
Dark clouds still covered the sky.
The storm had never truly left.
It lingered over the kingdom like an omen.
The castle seemed quieter now.
Most of the nobles had retired to their chambers.
The halls were occupied mainly by servants carrying out their final duties of the day.
Elara walked through the corridors with her head lowered.
The encounter in the war room lingered in her thoughts.
Not the king.
Not the generals.
The commander.
She frowned.
It annoyed her that she kept thinking about him.
He was simply another powerful man.
Nothing more.
Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that his eyes had lingered on her.
As though he had been studying her.
The thought made her uncomfor
