MILLIE’S POVThe morning after the coronation brought a strange, heavy stillness to the packhouse. The air inside the sprawling stone fortress was crisp, filled with the scent of burning pine from the hearth and the distant, soothing sounds of the territory waking up. By all accounts, I should have been completely at peace. The bond with Braham was an absolute, humming presence in the back of my mind, and the crown was officially mine.But as I stepped down into the sunlit morning room, a cold, sharp knot tied itself tightly in my stomach.Callie and Renan were standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, their heads huddled close together. They were speaking in frantic, hushed whispers, their body language taut and guarded. The moment my foot hit the hardwood floor, their conversation cut off with an unnatural, jarring abruptness."What are you two discussing?" I asked, my voice steady but direct as I walked toward them."Nothing, Mills," Callie said quickly, offering a forced, overly
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