Chapter 191 Stillness

• The next morning carried with it a strange stillness, as though the palace itself had chosen to rise in silence. Dawn spilled pale gold across the marble floors, and yet the usual hum of morning activity seemed subdued. Servants moved quietly, and guards stood sharper.
• The visiting kings had chosen to depart early, skipping breakfast altogether. No laughter from their entourages drifted down the halls, and no rich voices filled the dining chamber. Just the echo of boots, the occasional murmur of command, and the faint scent of spiced incense burning low in the corridors.
• Sargis and I stepped out, accompanied by the council members and the girl. The palace courtyard stretched before us, and sunlight caught the surface of the great fountain at its center. Water leapt and spilled over carved stone wolves, the cascade breaking into prisms of light that glinted like shards of glass. Around it, the cars waited, ready to carry royalty back to their lands.