The castle feels too large tonight.
Every corridor I walked through to reach my chambers felt hollow. Empty.
Ace is somewhere with Silas — I can feel it through the bond. Close enough to reach. Far enough that I don’t.
He’s still angry.
Not at me.
But it feels like it.
I close the door behind me and lean against it for a moment. My crown sits heavy against my head, like something I haven’t earned. The room is dim except for the low fire in the hearth and the silver wash of moonlight across the floor.
I sink onto the edge of the bed.
For the first time since the forest, I let the thoughts come without fighting them.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe I am exactly what history says I am.
A mistake.
A weapon waiting to turn.
Something people endure until they have the strength to destroy
