Ivy did not wake for three days.
The castle was quiet, but not peaceful.
Blackwood was still repairing the damage from the invasion. Burned walls. Broken gates. Blood that refused to wash away completely.
And at the center of it all
The Queen who would not open her eyes.
Ivy lay in the royal chamber, her skin pale against the dark sheets. Faint silver lines pulsed under her skin like cracks in glass.
Rowan had not left her side.
Not once.
He sat beside her bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly. His eyes were red from lack of sleep.
The pack elders whispered outside the doors.
“She used too much.”
“The Primordial blood is unstable.”
“She may not survive another battle.”
Rowan heard every word.
He did not respond.
On the third night, Ivy’s fingers twitched.
Rowan le
