Nevara
The lanterns were still burning.
That was the strangest part.
Golden light swayed gently above the square, suspended from ribbons and archways that had been meant to frame a wedding. Music stands sat abandoned where the musicians had once played. Half-finished glasses of wine remained scattered across the tables. Flower petals still marked the aisle where I had been walking only an hour before.
Everything looked exactly as it had during the ceremony.
Except the joy was gone.
The crowd had thinned now, though not completely. Guards moved steadily through the square, their armor catching the lanternlight as they searched every corner, every vendor tent, every shadow that might hide a frightened child.
My nephew.
The word twisted painfully in my chest.
Noah had been laughing e
