Aria.
The palace woke up before the sun did.
I heard the bells at dawn and was already up before the second ring. Three years of raising twins had killed any ability I once had to sleep in. Diana alone was enough to make sure of that.
I splashed cold water on my face and looked at my reflection in the small cracked mirror above the basin. Tired eyes. A mark on my neck that I had spent years covering. I pulled my collar up out of habit and turned away.
Freya was already awake on the other side of the small room, grinding something between her palms quietly. She looked up at me and we exchanged the kind of look that said everything without a single word between us.
We were still okay. We were still here. Keep moving.
The twins were curled up together on the small cot in the corner, Dia
