Aelira fell silent after recounting everything that had passed, as though the weight of the past had finally loosened its hold on her.
For a moment, it seemed she was no longer standing in the present but gazing through the corridors of memory—through laughter long faded, love long buried, and betrayals that had shaped the fate of Virelia itself.
Then she blinked, returning fully to the morning sun filtering through the tall windows.
She turned to Aurelia, who had listened without interruption, her posture respectful, her eyes attentive. Aelira could tell—this was not idle curiosity. Aurelia had absorbed every word, every emotion hidden beneath the queen mother's measured voice.
With Ardyn long gone, everything now felt distant. Like a story told from another life.
Aelira lifted her gaze toward the golden light spilling across the room and smiled faintly—wistful, restrained.
