[Haldor's POV—Toward the Imperial Palace]
The wind cut against my face as my horse thundered down the road, but it wasn't the cold that made my chest ache.
It was my heart.
It beat too fast and too hard. As if something unseen were gripping it and twisting.
Not fear, not exhaustion.
A warning.
Something is wrong, very very wrong. I pressed my hand against my chest, breath uneven.
"…I don't feel well," I muttered.
Grand Duke Osric rode beside me, his eyes sharp. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," I said, tightening my grip on the reins. "It feels like something has happened. Like—" My voice faltered. "Like Lavinia is in danger."
"Maybe you're thinking too much, your highness," he said.
I sighed, "I wish...but my instinct won't listen."
Osric's expression darkened. "Then we do not slow down."
He raised his voice. "Ride faster."
I struck my heels into my horse's sides. The Imperial Palace gates appeared ahead, torches blazing against the night sky.
And then—Chaos.
