The words carried weight, a promise and a warning wrapped in one.
For a moment, the two cousin brothers sat in shared silence, sipping from their goblets, shadows from the flames dancing across their faces.
Between them, unspoken things still lingered—sacrifices Embrez would not name, fears Alaric would not voice.
But this morning, they allowed themselves this rare moment of brotherhood, bound not by crowns or titles, but by blood.
Then,
The knock was soft, almost uncertain, but Alaric's head lifted immediately. His crimson eyes widened at the sound of her whisper.
"Alaric?"
At once, his stern composure broke into something gentler. "Come in," he called, his voice suddenly softened.
The door opened, and Salviana slipped inside. The moment her gaze found him, her face lit with a smile that scattered all the shadows in the room.
