A Lover's Return, A Wife's Departure
The core palace of Moonspire—the heart of the stronghold—was still shrouded in a peaceful quiet. Thin tendrils of early morning sunlight crept through marble walls and tall spires, but the stillness of the inner palace remained unbroken. Soft creaks of lanterns hanging loose in the wind or the quiet whisper of a passing guard alone broke the silence between the corridors. Quiet and steeped in royal silence, its halls bore the weight of dawn and unuttered goodbyes.
But beyond those holy marble portals, life was already getting underway.
Beyond the unblemished walls of the outer palace, the world went into gear. In the sprawling living quarters set aside for the noble lords who'd convened in Moonspire, another kind of energy ran through the air—boisterous, frantic, pulsing.
