[POV: Solenne]
Solenne didn't know why she woke up. It was before the sun touched Haleford's rooftops, before Alde stirred in the lower floor, even before the village streets filled with footsteps and voices.
A weight pressed against her chest, threatening to swallow her whole. It wasn't fear or dread, but a sense of change.
She pulled herself from the warmth of her small attic bed, bare feet padding against the cold floorboards. The winter outside had worsened, frost spiraling over the window glass like vines.
Solenne peered out the window, through the swirling frost, and noticed that the stars were unusually bright. She didn't even need to light a candle. Her breath fogged the glass as she leaned forward, searching the horizon as if some part of her already knew where to look.
Nothing had happened, but something within her trembled.
