The throne room was silent long after Ezra left.
Caroline stood there, staring at the place where he had stood, feeling the weight of his words settle into her chest like a stone she couldn't lift.
"Then why did you hesitate?"
She wanted to scream.
Wanted to tell him that it wasn’t because she doubted him, but because something inside her was unraveling, something she had tried for so long to keep buried.
But he was already gone.
And for the first time, she wondered—had he been right?
Had she already chosen a side without realizing it?
The fortress was suffocating that night.
Caroline sat in her chambers, unable to sleep, unable to stop replaying every moment in her mind.
The way Ezra had looked at her.
The way his voice had carried something more than frustration, more than ang
