The door creaked open like it didn’t want to, as if the palace was hesitating, holding back its secrets for one last second.
Nyra hung there in the doorway, stuck. Not because she was scared about what she’d find—she was scared of what she already kind of knew in her gut.
Kael stood next to her. He looked calm now. That edge of anger he’d carried earlier was gone, buried under a steady silence that weighed just as much. Behind them, servants kept their distance. Heads down. Hands folded. They waited for a sign. No one was about to risk speaking out or even breathing too loud.
The whole place demanded obedience. You felt it everywhere—but not because someone was threatening anyone. Just because everyone expected it.
Nyra stepped inside.
And just like that, the world tilted.
The room w
