The morning sun broke over the snow-capped peaks of the Blackwood Mountains, casting a sharp, golden light through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the Sovereign Study.
Six days had passed since the coronation at the Great Cathedral. The grand banners and silver ceremonial drapes across the capital had been neatly packed away, replaced by the quiet, steady rhythm of an empire in motion.
I sat at the massive mahogany desk in the center of the room, surrounded by neatly stacked parchment folders, financial ledgers, and territorial maps. The crown of dark steel and moonstones rested on a leather-bound stand near the window, but around my shoulders sat a simple, tailored mantle of dark wool fastened with a silver wolf clasp.
I didn't need the weight of the crown on my head to feel the
