>>Ariston
The lake shimmered beneath the silver weight of the moon.
It was quiet. Too quiet. Even the water barely dared to move—just a soft ripple now and then from the breeze drifting through the trees.
I sat next to Drakkar on the marble edge of the royal lake, elbows on my knees, my fingers loosely intertwined. He hadn't spoken in a while. Not since we left the isolated tower. The silence between us wasn't comfortable. It had weight—coiled, quiet tension.
He was angry.
I could feel it in the way his jaw tightened, the stiffness in his shoulders, the low hum of energy that always clung to him when he was holding something back.
Then finally, he looked at me, and I looked away.
"Did you know she was alive?" His voice wasn't loud. But it carried.
I didn't answer right away. Just watched the reflection of the moon break apart on the lake's surface.
"Yes," I said softly.
There was silence again. Colder now.
