Chapter 52 The Weight Of Crown

• The rain had passed, but its echo clung to the stone. Dampness in the air. A hush over the castle, like the world was waiting for someone to breathe first.
• Elira stood before the high window in the war room, her fingers barely brushing the cool sill. Outside, the valley stretched into gray haze, its once-burning fields now green and quiet. She had never seen peace look so strange. Not silent, just... slow. Like it didn’t know how to wear its own skin yet.
• Behind her, Kael entered quietly. He didn’t speak. Just the soft sound of his steps across the stone and the shift of his cloak as he came to stand beside her.