The dawn light spilled over Winter's Crown, bathing its spires and walls in a golden hue. For the first time in weeks, the city seemed quieter, its usual chaos tempered by an unspoken relief. Elyas was gone, and though his shadow lingered, his immediate threat had been extinguished.
Inside the safe house, Damien sat at the central table, his steel-gray eyes scanning a fresh map of the kingdom. Red ink marked areas still reeling from Elyas's rebellion—regions where his influence had left fractures that would take years to mend. Beside him, Amara and Carys worked in silence, their weariness evident but their resolve unbroken.
Amara broke the quiet first, leaning back in her chair as she studied Damien. "You know, for someone who just brought down one of the kingdom's biggest threats, you don't look very happy."
Damien didn't look up from the map. "It's not about being happy. It's about what comes next."
