Chapter 86

Chapter 86 Seraphina's POV The dawn broke with a pale, golden light spilling over the spires of Blackthorne Keep. For the first time in what felt like years, I awoke not to war horns or reports, but to quiet birdsong drifting through the balcony window. I lay still for a while, soaking in the stillness. No urgent knocks. No bloodshed waiting at the gates. Just silence. Kaelos stirred beside me, his arm draped over my waist. His breathing was slow, steady. Peaceful. I turned my head to watch him, marveling at how different he looked when he wasn’t carrying the weight of a kingdom. Younger, somehow. Softer. He must’ve felt my gaze because his eyes fluttered open. “Morning,” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. “Morning,” I whispered. We lay there for a while longer, limbs tangled, watching the light shift on the stone ceiling. When we finally rose, it was slow and unhurried. We didn’t need to rush anymore. But outside that room, the world had kept turning. By midmorning, I was dressed and