A servant entered the room on soft slippers, bowing low. "My lady… the Empress has returned."
Ophelia's head snapped up. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face pale. "Empress Eris?"
"Yes, my lady. She is in the nursery with the young prince."
Ophelia's face shifted, a complex play of shadows crossing her features. Relief was the first emotion to strike, Eris was powerful. Eris was different.
Maybe she could do what the healers couldn't. But behind that relief was a sharp, stinging jealousy. Eris was here to help Caelen.
Caelen would wake up to the sight of the woman he truly loved, while Ophelia remained the background shadow who had merely watched him sleep.
She heard the footsteps before she saw them. Heavy, rhythmic, and purposeful.
She stood from her chair as the heavy oak doors swung open. Soren entered first, his presence filling the room with an icy gravity.
