The next morning, the castle felt different.
Not broken.
Not afraid.
But tense.
Like everyone was waiting for something worse to come.
Ivy had not slept.
She stood in the war room, staring at the large map spread across the wooden table. Red marks covered half the territory.
The Shadow King was moving again.
Small villages near the border had gone silent.
Scouts had not returned.
Rowan entered quietly.
He studied her for a moment before speaking.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard.”
She didn’t look at him.
“If I stop, people die.”
He walked closer.
“If you continue like this, you die.”
That made her pause.
The silver cracks were faint this morning, but he could still see them under her skin when light touched her.
She finally turned to face him.
“Say what you came to say
