Elara's POV
The scream woke me before I understood what was happening.
I was not fully awake. The sound cut through the half-darkness of early morning, high and sharp, the kind of scream that did not belong in a palace. I was out of bed before my mind caught up, my feet on the cold stone, my heart pounding in my chest.
More screams. Voices. Footsteps running.
I pulled my robe around me and went to the door.
The corridor was chaos. Servants stood in clusters, their faces pale, their hands over their mouths. Guards pushed through the crowd, trying to get to whatever had happened. Someone was crying, the sound low and broken, the kind of crying that came from somewhere deep.
I pushed through the crowd. No one stopped me. No one tried.
The door to my dressing room was open. One of my ladies was standing in the doorway, her face white, her hands shaking. She was the one who had screamed. I could see it in her eyes, the shock still fresh, the horror still settling.
