The palace woke earlier than usual.
Not loudly.
Not with urgency.
But with a quiet sense of order returning to where it had briefly been broken.
Kael did not go to the council at once.
He delayed it.
Not out of avoidance.
But because there were things that mattered more this morning.
When he stepped into Lyra’s room, the air felt different again.
Lighter.
Full.
Lyra was awake.
Already sitting up.
The twins beside her.
Her mother stood near the small table, preparing something warm.
Elara was closer to the cribs, adjusting the cloth around one of the babies with careful hands.
Lyra looked up when Kael entered.
“You left early.”
“I didn’t leave,” he replied.
“I was outside.”
She studied him for a moment.
Then nodded.
“You’re going to them today.”
It wasn’t a question.
