The medical wing had become my world in the twelve hours since the helicopter landed. Twelve hours of surgeons coming and going with guarded expressions, of security reports piling on my desk, of ministers demanding answers I didn't have. Through it all, Lola had remained by my side, her presence a steady anchor in the storm. Now, as we sat in Theo's office—my office, temporarily—staring at a blank document that needed to become an official palace statement, I felt the full weight of the crown settling on shoulders that had never been meant to bear it.
"You've been staring at that screen for twenty minutes," Lola said softly, her fingers brushing against my arm. "Would it help to talk it through first?"
I rubbed my eyes, gritty from lack of sleep and the strain of maintaining a facade of
