(Almera POV)
Morning in Constantine felt different.
The light itself seemed softer here than in Alessandria, filtering through drifting clouds instead of blazing down like a golden spear. The road beneath our horses had changed as well. It was no longer the hardened trail of borderlands but a proper imperial road, paved with fitted stones that bore the quiet wear of centuries of travel.
I had ridden this road before.
Once as a princess.
Once as a hostage bride.
Now I returned as something else entirely.
The escort moved steadily, the Golden Army maintaining a disciplined formation around us. Their bronze armor and desert banners looked foreign against the greener landscape of Constantine. Farmers paused in their fields as we passed. Merchants halted their carts. Travelers slowed their horses.
Eyes followed us everywhere.
At first the whispers were distant.
Curious.
Then someone recognized me.
"That is her…"
The words carried through the roadside like a sudden breeze.
