After the attack, the palace changed.
More guards walked the halls. Doors were locked earlier. Even the air felt heavier, like everyone was holding their breath at the same time.
Lyra was no longer allowed to walk freely in the garden.
Every step she took was watched.
Every moment was guarded.
And Caelan was moved.
He was no longer placed near her balcony.
He was sent to the outer walls.
When Lyra learned this, she felt something sink inside her chest.
She did not know what to call that feeling.
---
Two nights passed without seeing him.
On the third night, she could not bear it.
She found a way through a quiet hallway that led to the western wall stairs. The guards knew her and did not dare stop her.
The wind was strong on the wall.
Torches burned low.
And there he was.
Standing tall. Still. Watching the darkness beyond the city.
"Caelan," she said softly.
He turned quickly. "Your Highness, you should not be here. It is dangerous now."
"I know," she said. "That is why I came."
He looked confused.
"I did not want you to think I forgot you," she said.
His throat tightened.
"I would never think that," he replied. "I only feared… you were safer without me near you."
She stepped closer. "I feel less safe without you."
The words surprised both of them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The wind wrapped around them like a held breath.
"I will be sent away soon," Caelan said quietly.
Lyra's heart dropped. "Away where?"
"The northern villages," he answered. "Scouts report more enemy movement."
"You might not come back," she said.
"That is the truth of every mission," he replied.
Her hands slowly clenched at her sides.
"I don't want you to go."
The sentence was soft. Barely sound.
But Caelan heard it like thunder.
"I don't want to leave," he said. "But if I don't go, others will die."
Tears quietly gathered in her eyes.
"I hate this world," she whispered. "It takes the people I need and calls it 'duty.'"
He wanted to reach for her.
He did not.
"I will return," he said. "Even if I have to crawl back."
She gave a small, broken smile. "Then I will wait."
---
The next morning, the squad rode out.
Lyra watched from the tower as the gates opened.
Caelan rode at the front.
He did not look back.
If he did, he feared he would not leave.
Lyra watched until the dust swallowed them.
Only when they were gone did she finally let herself cry.
---
The days were slow after that.
Every morning, she waited for news.
Every night, she whispered his name into the quiet.
She spoke to no one about him.
But her heart did not know how to stay silent.
---
Far in the north, Caelan moved through broken villages and burnt roads.
He fought.
He bled.
He survived.
But with every battle, he thought of one thing only.
"I must go back."
---
And in the shadows beyond the kingdom, the enemy gathered not for villages… but for the throne itself.