The palace was quiet, deceptively calm.
Four days had passed since the war, but Selene moved through the halls with a practiced awareness, her senses alert. The light of mid-morning spilled through high windows, brushing the polished stone floors, catching her chestnut hair and icy-blue eyes. She carried Camille in her arms, the baby cooing softly, curious about the stillness after chaos. Yet something in Selene refused the calm. Because before she ever stepped into the council chamber that morning… she had already seen it.
Sleep had not come easily. Near dawn, the same ancient thread that had guided her through battle reached for her once more. A vision flickered through her mind: stone walls, a circle of elders, then silence. A shadow stood among them—not outside the council, but withi
