Morning arrived quietly, without ceremony.
Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the guest chamber, slipping past thin curtains and stretching across the stone floor in pale gold lines. The castle of Virencia had already awakened—distant footsteps echoed faintly through the corridors, servants beginning their routines, guards changing shifts—but within the room, the stillness lingered a little longer, as if granting Luke and Ilyrana one final moment before everything changed.
Luke woke first.
For a brief second, he forgot.
He stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly, mind drifting between dreams and reality. Then memory returned all at once—the briefing, the preparations, Hope waiting in the hidden cove, and the simple truth that today was no longer preparation.
Today, they left.
