The st light of day filtered through the stained gss windows of the royal chamber, casting prisms of color across the stone floor. Queen Lilith stood by the open balcony, her slender fingers tracing the carved railing as she watched the sun descend behind the mountains that bordered her kingdom.

  "The sunset is magnificent today," she said, turning to look at the man seated in a cushioned chair near the hearth. "The sky is abze with colors that remind me of the wildflowers that grow in the northern meadows. Crimson and gold near the sun, fading to purple where day meets night."

  Luca tilted his head slightly, his unseeing eyes looking somewhere past her shoulder. A smile formed on his lips—not the hesitant half-smile most people offered when uncomfortable, but a genuine expression of joy that transformed his entire face.

  "I can smell it," he said, his voice gentle yet resonant in the spacious chamber. "The particur warmth in the air just before dusk, when the stones of the castle release the day's heat."

  Lilith moved from the balcony toward him, her movements fluid and graceful despite the weight of her royal garments. As she approached, Luca extended his hand, palm upward—an invitation she'd accepted countless times before. She pced her hand in his, and he pulled her down to sit on the armrest of his chair.

  "The guards changed shifts a moment ago," he said, turning his face toward her. "Sir Dalen is at the east post tonight. His armor always creaks at the left shoulder."

  Lilith ughed, the sound like silver bells in the quieting chamber. "Your ears put my royal spies to shame." She reached out to trace the line of his jaw, her touch reverent despite the twisted scar that ran from his left temple to his chin. "What else do they tell you?"

  "That the kitchen is preparing venison for tonight's meal. That the court minstrel is practicing a new bald for tomorrow's feast—though he's struggling with the third verse." His expression softened further. "And that our daughter has escaped her nurse again and is currently hiding in the alcove behind the tapestry."

  On cue, a barely suppressed giggle emanated from behind the heavy woven fabric depicting the kingdom's founding. Lilith raised an eyebrow but made no move to investigate.

  "I hear nothing," she decred dramatically. "Perhaps the king is mistaken. Perhaps there are no little princesses hiding where they shouldn't be."

  The giggle grew louder, accompanied by the rustling of fabric as a small figure burst from behind the tapestry, her dark curls bouncing with each step as she ran toward them.

  "I'm here! I fooled you, Mother!" Five-year-old Princess Elena unched herself at Lilith, who caught her with practiced ease.

  "You fooled me indeed," Lilith admitted, adjusting her daughter on her p. "But not your father. Nothing escapes him."

  Luca reached out, his hand finding his daughter's head with unerring accuracy. "Nothing except you from your lessons, little one. Was Lady Mariam not teaching you your letters today?"

  Elena's expression turned sheepish. "Letters are boring. I wanted to hear you and Mother talk about the sunset."

  "The sunset will return tomorrow," Luca said gently. "But knowledge, once missed, is harder to recapture."

  Lilith watched the interaction with quiet contentment. There were those in the kingdom—even among her closest advisors—who had questioned her choice of consort. A blind man with a twisted body, they'd whispered. A commoner with no noble blood, no military prowess, no political connections to strengthen the realm.

  What they failed to see was everything that mattered: his brilliant mind, his unwavering kindness, his ability to perceive what others missed despite—or perhaps because of—his ck of sight.

  "Father, will you tell me about the mountains again?" Elena asked, settling more comfortably across both their ps. "The ones you climbed before—"

  She stopped abruptly, her child's intuition sensing she'd approached a subject best left untouched. Lilith felt Luca's hand tense slightly in hers.

  "Before my accident?" he finished for her, his voice carefully neutral. "It's alright, Elena. Yes, I'll tell you about the mountains."

  Lilith squeezed his hand in silent support. Accident was the word they used with the children, though it had been no accident that left Luca blind and his body damaged. The attack by jealous nobles who'd resented a commoner's rise to the queen's favor had nearly killed him. That he'd survived at all was remarkable; that he'd refused to let bitterness consume him was nothing short of miraculous.

  "The mountains to the west are different from those you can see from your window," Luca began, his voice taking on the rhythmic quality that made him such a captivating storyteller. "They're older, their peaks gentler, rounded by time like elderly shoulders. In spring, they're carpeted with tiny blue flowers that release a scent like honey when crushed underfoot."

  Elena leaned forward, entranced, as she always was by her father's tales. Lilith found herself equally captivated, watching his face as he spoke of pces he would never see again but could describe with vivid crity from memory.

  A soft knock at the chamber door interrupted the moment. The royal steward, Tomas, entered with a respectful bow.

  "Your Majesty, Your Highness," he addressed them both, though custom dictated that Luca, as the queen's consort rather than king in his own right, was not entitled to such formal address. It was one of many small ways the castle staff showed their genuine respect for the man who had won their hearts as surely as he had won their queen's.

  "The delegation from Eastwatch has arrived a day early," Tomas continued. "Lord Keen presents his compliments and requests an audience at your convenience."

  Lilith sighed, the responsibilities of rule intruding on this rare peaceful moment with her family. "Tell Lord Keen I will receive him in the small audience chamber in half an hour."

  As Tomas withdrew, Elena's face fell. "Must you go, Mother? Father was just getting to the part about the mountain spirits."

  "Duty calls, little one," Lilith said, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead before gently transferring her fully to Luca's p. "But your father can finish the story, and perhaps you can tell me all about it when I return."

  She stood, smoothing the folds of her gown. "Will you join us for the evening meal?" she asked Luca.

  "I think not tonight," he replied. "I promised our son I would help him with his studies when he returns from his riding lesson."

  Lilith nodded, though he couldn't see it. "Then I shall see you ter tonight." She leaned down to kiss him, a brief but tender gesture. As always, his hand rose to cup her cheek, his touch delicate as if she were made of precious gss.

  "Be careful with Lord Keen," Luca murmured against her lips. "His st three visits have coincided with unusual troop movements along the eastern border."

  Lilith drew back slightly, surprised. "The reports mentioned nothing of this."

  "The reports would not," he said. "But the messengers who deliver them speak of sore horses and longer journeys. Something is happening in the east."

  This was why her advisors had learned to stop questioning her choice of consort. What Luca cked in sight, he more than compensated for with insight. His ability to piece together fragments of information, to detect patterns others missed, had saved the kingdom from threats more than once.

  "I'll be cautious," she promised. "And I'll have the border patrols doubled."

  Elena, growing restless, tugged at her father's sleeve. "The mountain spirits, Father. You were telling me how they sing when the winter winds come."

  Lilith left them there, her daughter curled against her husband's chest, his deep voice resuming the tale as she closed the door behind her. In the corridor, she paused, listening to the muffled sound of Luca's storytelling, Elena's delighted ughter punctuating his words.

  The weight of her crown felt lighter in these moments, when she remembered exactly what she was protecting. Not just a kingdom of stone and soil, but this—this love, this family they had built against all odds and expectations.

  She straightened her shoulders and moved toward the audience chamber, her steps purposeful. Whatever Lord Keen brought from the east, whatever challenges awaited, she would face them as she had faced all others since taking the throne: with wisdom, strength, and the unwavering certainty that at day's end, Luca would be waiting, ready to hear about her sunset.

  The small audience chamber was designed for intimacy rather than intimidation. Unlike the great hall with its towering throne on a dais, here Lilith received guests at a round table carved from a single massive oak. The equality suggested by the seating arrangement was, of course, an illusion—no one who sat across from Queen Lilith could forget for a moment who wielded power in this realm.

  Lord Keen was a thin man with a perpetually pinched expression, as though he'd just detected an unpleasant odor. His nd bordered the eastern reaches of Lilith's kingdom, a strategic position that made him valuable despite his grating personality.

  "Your Majesty is most gracious to receive me on such short notice," he said, performing an eborate bow that set the chains of office around his neck jingling.

  "Eastwatch has always been a loyal friend to the crown," Lilith replied, gesturing for him to be seated. "What brings you to court ahead of schedule, Lord Keen?"

  The man's eyes darted to the royal guards standing at attention by the door, then to Tomas, who stood ready to record the meeting.

  "Perhaps a matter best discussed in private, Your Majesty," he suggested, his voice lowering conspiratorially.

  Lilith made no move to dismiss her attendants. "My guards and steward have my complete confidence, Lord Keen. Please, speak freely."

  Keen's mouth tightened momentarily before he gave a resigned nod. "As you wish. I come with troubling news from beyond our borders. The Kingdom of Verrath has been unusually active—military drills, stockpiling of supplies, messengers traveling at odd hours."

  "Preparations for war?" Lilith asked directly.

  "Not necessarily, Your Majesty, but... preparations for something." He leaned forward. "More concerning are the rumors of their new alliance."

  "With whom?"

  Keen hesitated. "This may sound peculiar, but there are whispers that King Darius has found favor with... divine patrons."

  A flicker of unease passed through Lilith, though her expression remained composed. "Divine patrons," she repeated. "You speak of gods meddling in mortal affairs."

  "I speak only of rumors, Your Majesty," Keen said quickly. "But unusual phenomena have been reported along the border. Lights in the sky, voices where no people stand, harvests that ripen in a single night." He lowered his voice further. "And the temples in Verrath overflow with offerings more vish than any seen in generations."

  Lilith's mind worked quickly, connecting this information with other reports she'd received in recent months. Strange weather patterns. Unexpined illnesses affecting livestock. The sudden madness of a previously reliable court astrologer who'd begun raving about celestial voices before taking his own life.

  Small incidents, easily dismissed individually. Together, they formed a pattern that could no longer be ignored.

  "I appreciate your vigince, Lord Keen," she said. "Rest assured, we will investigate these matters thoroughly."

  "There is one more thing, Your Majesty." Keen's discomfort was palpable now. "The priests of Verrath speak openly of divine judgment coming to those who... who defy the natural order."

  The implication hung in the air between them. Lilith's choice of consort—a blind, disabled commoner elevated to royal status—had raised eyebrows not just within her kingdom but beyond its borders as well. Some considered it an affront to tradition, to propriety, even to the gods themselves who, it was said, gifted nobility with their superior bloodlines.

  "Is that so?" Lilith's voice was soft, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop. "And do these priests specify what form this 'judgment' might take?"

  Keen swallowed visibly. "They say only that the gods restore bance in their own time, Your Majesty."

  "The gods have shown little interest in our affairs for generations, Lord Keen. It seems unlikely they would suddenly concern themselves with matters of royal marriage."

  "Of course, Your Majesty. I merely report what is being said."

  Lilith studied him for a long moment. Luca's warning about troop movements echoed in her mind. "You will stay as our guest for a few days, I trust? We have preparation underway for the midsummer festival, and Eastwatch should be represented."

  The invitation was clearly a command. Keen's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded. "It would be my honor, Your Majesty."

  "Excellent. Tomas will see to your accommodations." She rose, signaling the end of the audience. "And Lord Keen? While you are here, perhaps you might share more details about those unusual troop movements along your eastern borders—the ones you neglected to mention in your official reports."

  The lord's face drained of color. "I... I'm not sure what Your Majesty means."

  Lilith smiled, a expression that didn't reach her eyes. "We shall discuss it tomorrow. For now, rest from your journey."

  As Keen was escorted from the chamber, Lilith moved to the narrow window overlooking the courtyard below. The st light of day had faded completely now, leaving the sky a deep indigo scattered with early stars. In the distance, beyond the castle walls, her kingdom stretched into darkness, vulnerable and unaware of whatever storm might be brewing.

  For generations, the gods had been little more than figures in temple frescoes, names invoked in festival rituals more tradition than true devotion. The idea of divine beings taking direct interest in mortal affairs belonged to ancient legends, not the rational world she governed.

  Yet Lilith could not dismiss the unease that settled in her chest. She thought of Luca and their children, of the happiness they had carved out despite opposition and prejudice.

  "If you truly exist," she whispered to the darkening sky, "and if you truly care for justice, you will leave my family in peace."

  No voice answered from the heavens. Only the night wind stirred, carrying the scent of approaching summer and, very faintly, something else—something ancient and cold that raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck.

  In her chambers, Luca would be waiting, ready to hear about her meeting, to offer counsel no advisor could match. Elena would be asleep by now, and their son Alden would be poring over his books, determined to prove himself worthy of eventually helping his mother rule.

  Her family. Her strength. Her reason for every sacrifice and battle.

  Lilith turned from the window, her decision made. Tomorrow, she would send messages to her spies in Verrath. She would double the border patrols as Luca suggested. She would investigate these rumors of divine interest with every resource at her command.

  And if gods truly were meddling in her realm, they would learn that Queen Lilith protected what was hers—with every power a mortal queen could wield, and then some.