The following weeks became a blur of discipline, sleepless nights, and relentless focus. The rhythm of the royal castle shifted subtly — its corridors echoing less with idle gossip and more with the murmured hum of incantations, the clash of sparring, and the restless turn of parchment pages deep in the libraries below.
River had thrown herself entirely into the task. Each dawn began with training — not the usual court etiquette or ceremonial lessons, but physical self defence combat, stamina drills, and mind conditioning under Alia’s sharp supervision. Her power was raw, unpredictable, beautiful — like a river breaking from its frozen shell.
At first, she struggled to harness the strange new energy that seemed to pulse beneath her skin. Her empathy, once a passive gift, now surged with
