Nernia's POV
The silence after our confrontation wasn't peaceful.
It was loud. Deafening.
I had left him standing in the corridor, eyes full of unspoken things. I should've felt vindicated—powerful, maybe. But instead, there was a hollowness beneath my ribs, like I'd just thrown my heart off a cliff and watched it splatter below.
I didn't cry.
Not because I didn't want to.
But because something in the air shifted before I even made it halfway down the hall.
A vibration. A stillness. The kind that only comes before a storm.
Then—
Boom.
A distant explosion. Followed by three heavy, fast-paced knocks on the war room door.
A soldier burst through, face pale and armor slightly bloodied.
"My Lady—Lord Kaelen!" he panted. "They've breached the border. The southern watchtower has fallen."
Everything around me stopped.
Kaelen appeared at my side within seconds. It was as if the weight of everything we were—everything we'd left unsaid—was instantly shelved. We moved like one. Like fire and strategy. Like survival.
"How many?" Kaelen asked, already marching toward the central courtyard.
"At least four battalions. Armed. Marked with red sigils. House Virell's flags."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. "They were supposed to be under treaty."
The soldier nodded. "We believe this is retaliation for the broken alliance two winters ago. They've waited for us to be divided."
I felt a chill creep up my spine. Divided.
He meant me and Kaelen. The tension in the court. The whispers of a distracted ruler, of a kingdom caught in its own emotional war.
And now the real one had come knocking.
Kaelen turned to me. "Get to the war chamber. Mobilize the archers. And Nernia—don't be reckless."
I looked up at him, heart thudding. "We've already lost too much time. We can't afford hesitation."
His gaze softened for half a second. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Then he turned on his heel, barking commands at every passing guard as the castle buzzed into chaos.
I stood there for one heartbeat longer.
And then I ran.
To the tower. To the armory. To the edge of a battle we never wanted—but were always destined to face.
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