Chapter 66

• Alera’s POV
• The sun filtered lazily through the tall windows, casting golden rays across the floor. I lay there for a while, cocooned in the silky sheets, eyes fluttering open slowly. My body wasn’t in pain or discomfort, but there was a weight pressing on me—a heaviness I couldn’t explain. Maybe it was the anticipation of the unknown. Maybe it was the reality of everything changing so fast.
• A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. It opened before I could answer, and the maids came in with practiced silence. A stream of them, all dressed in pale cream uniforms, their hair tucked neatly beneath white scarves. One reached for the curtains and drew them fully open, flooding the room with light. Another walked straight toward the carved wardrobe where gowns hung like delicate ornaments. I sighed softly and sat up.