Three years ago
It was noon. The palace was quiet, its long corridors filled only with the distant echo of footsteps from servants going about their duties. In the library, Ivan sat alone.
The shelves towered around him, heavy with books. Dust floated in the sunlight that came through the tall windows. A book lay open before him on the table. His eyes were fixed on a single page, but he had not turned it for nearly an hour.
He had come here with the intention to read, to distract himself from the thoughts that constantly consumed him. But no matter how hard he tried, the words blurred before his eyes. His mind refused to obey.
All he could think about was Lydia.
Her face, her voice, the way her presence had once made everything in his world feel alive. He wondered where she was now. Was she safe? Was she warm? Did she have someone by her side, or was she alone? The questions tormented him.
