The strongest walls always break from within.
For three days, Moonspire knew an uneasy peace.
The enemy had retreated.
The wounded slowly recovered.
Children laughed in the palace gardens again.
To anyone looking from the outside, it almost seemed as if the war had paused.
But I had learned something during the past few months.
The quiet moments were always the most dangerous.
Kael remained confined to his chambers.
His wounds were healing.
His curse wasn’t.
Every morning, I visited him before the royal council met.
Every evening, I returned after helping the healers.
It became our unspoken routine.
When I entered his room that morning, he was standing by the window.
“You should be in bed,” I said.
He smiled without turning around.
“And you sound exactly like the royal hea
