Chapter Content
The chambers were quiet now.
Not the public quiet of marble halls and uniformed guards—but the softer, heavier hush that settled only after doors had been closed, children carried away by trusted hands, and the last echoes of music had finally died.
Candles burned low along the walls, their flames steady and unhurried, painting silk hangings and polished wood in gold. The air still carried traces of bathwater and perfume—lavender, soap, and something warmer beneath, the lingering scent of skin.
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