The heavy doors groaned shut behind the last rider. The sound sealed us in, a barrier between us and the woman still marching south with murder in her veins.
I handed my reins to a stable hand and started toward the inner keep, Darius a solid shadow at my side. Every step closer to the royal wing tightened something in my chest.
Lila spotted me first. She burst from the nursery doors like a small storm, bare feet slapping stone. "Mama!" Her voice cracked with relief and leftover fear.
I dropped to one knee and caught her as she slammed into me. She buried her face in my neck, small arms locked tight enough to bruise. "You smell like smoke and blood. Did you break them?"
"Not all of them," I said against her hair. "But enough to make them think twice."
