Freya stepped quietly into the room she had been assigned, the heavy door clicking shut behind her.
She stood for a long moment, still and silent, her eyes drawn to the mirror by the far wall.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she truly looked at herself — the looseness of her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, the way the black mourning dress clung softly to her form.
Her reflection looked almost... ghostly.
Not the girl Miami had raised, wild and stubborn — but something different. Softer. Sharper. A woman marked by grief and change.
Slowly, Freya raised her hand to touch the small pendant resting just above her heart. Her fingers closed around it tightly, and the rush of emotion broke free.
Tears welled in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks, silent and unrelenting.
As she stared into her own gaze — the sadness, the anger, the loneliness — it almost felt like the mirror might crack from the weight of it all.
A soft knock on the door snapped her from the spiral. It was one of the maids, informing her that the rites were ending.
Freya wiped her face carefully, straightened her dress, and tucked the pendant beneath the black fabric once more.
With a breath she did not feel ready for, she left the room, her face once again a careful mask of composure.
Outside, in the courtyard...
The funeral rites concluded with the final prayer offered beneath the weeping black banners. The night sky loomed heavy above, stars shrouded in mourning clouds.
The gathering shifted slightly — from sorrowful rites to the more formal traditions of honoring the dead with stories, quiet music, and shared remembrances.
A dull murmur filled the air, nobles and warriors speaking in hushed voices, goblets of wine passed hand to hand.
Sebastian stood apart from them.
Clad in a long black cloak, the new king cut an imposing figure — tall, silent, unreadable.
Kael approached him briefly, offering a respectful nod.
"You holding up?" Kael muttered low, careful to keep the conversation private.
Sebastian's eyes flickered briefly toward his friend — then past him.
Something — no, someone — was moving at the edges of the crowd.
A man. Or at least, that was what everyone else seemed to think.
But Sebastian saw beyond the surface.
The figure's eyes glowed faintly — a shimmer of gold too bright for any human. His smile was wrong — stretched, sharp at the edges.
Their gazes met across the space.
The figure tilted his head, almost as if greeting him, before vanishing among the swirling cloaks and shadows.
Sebastian stiffened.
"Sebastian?" Kael asked, noticing the sudden change in him.
The king shook his head once, subtly. "It's nothing."
But it wasn't.
Something had shifted tonight. Something unseen, something waiting.
And Sebastian — whether he admitted it aloud or not — felt it stirring in his blood.