Elara's POV
The commotion brought me out of my chambers.
I had been sitting at my desk, reading through the water repair reports, trying to focus on numbers that kept blurring in front of my eyes. The night was quiet. The palace was settling into its usual evening rhythm. Then the scream came. Sharp. Short. The kind of scream that did not belong in a palace.
I was on my feet before I knew I had moved. The door was open. The corridor was chaos.
Guards were everywhere, their hands on their swords, their voices overlapping. Someone was shouting orders. Someone else was running toward the east stairwell.
And Lena was pressed against the wall, the tray she had been carrying abandoned on the floor. Cups shattered. Tea pooled on the stones. Her face was white. Her hands were shaking. She looked like someone who had seen something she should not have seen.
"What happened?" I asked.
Lena looked at me. Her voice was steady and deliberate. Choosing each word.
