Natalie POV
The first pale, fragile lines of the post-solstice dawn began to fracture the indigo shadows of the eastern peaks, casting a cold, silver glare over the frost-rimed battlements of the black wing. The mountain gale had finally spent its fury, leaving the grand valley locked beneath an absolute, breathless silence that felt less like peace and more like a continent waiting for its sentence to be read. Inside the grand suite, the thick obsidian walls held the localized heat of the hearth like a fortress, sealing in the dense, intoxicating atmosphere that always followed the king’s victory.
I rose from the satin cushions of the chaise lounge with a slow, deliberate grace, my midnight-blue wool gown sweeping over the polished obsidian floorboards with a soft, mechanical rustle. My
