POV: Alex
The palace has never felt so quiet.
Even with guards posted outside my doors… even with magic humming through the walls… the silence presses into my chest like a second heartbeat that doesn’t belong to me.
I sit at the edge of my bed, healer’s bandages wrapped around my wrists from where the Shadow King’s power burned through my shields. My hands are steady now.
My mind is not.
Mother of Kings.
The words echo over and over in my head like a curse disguised as a blessing.
I press my palm flat against my stomach—not because anything is there yet… but because everyone now looks at me like something will be.
A future.
An heir.
A weapon wrapped in prophecy.
The door creaks open softly.
Mason.
He doesn’t speak at first. Just leans against the frame like he’s afraid his voi
