Natalie POV
The post-solstice quiet that settled over the high keep was not a sign of peace, but the heavy, suspended breath of an empire that had just rewritten its fundamental architecture. From the high arched windows of the western library tower, the distant peaks of the rogue pass were nothing but dark, jagged teeth cutting into a pale lilac sky. The whiteout had completely retreated, leaving behind an expanse of pristine, glittering frost that buried the blood spilled on the plateau under three feet of absolute silence.
Inside the tower, the only sound was the sharp, rhythmic crackle of salt-treated birch logs burning in the wide stone hearth.
I sat at the massive ebony reading desk, my spine perfectly straight despite the deep, throbbing ache that still lingered in my lower back.
