The salt air met me like an old lover, sharp, clean, and familiar. I had not stepped outside our chambers in a full day, and already the castle walls whispered of change. Power still crackled beneath my skin, newly awakened and barely restrained, but it was Caelan's hand in mine that kept it steady. His presence, like moonlight dancing on a stormy sea, anchored me in ways even I did not fully understand.
The corridor opened into the upper terrace of the Pearl Castle. The sea churned far below, rhythmic and wild. Waiting at the balustrade were Tharion, Fenris, Lysander, and Thalia, four pillars of my court, of my heart. Their postures were rigid with tension, though it eased slightly as Caelan and I approached.
"You are finally awake," Thalia murmured with a relieved smile, her ocean-blue eyes tracing my form as though checking I was truly whole. "And burning brighter than ever."
