Chapter 22 — Currents That Bind
The palace quieted after the Council dispersed, but the tension they left behind lingered in the halls like a storm that had not yet broken.
Aerin walked slowly through the coral corridors, her fingers trailing along the carved walls as glowing sea-lights flickered softly overhead. Outside the palace, the water moved in long, slow tides—restless, thoughtful.
Much like the realm itself.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
She didn't need to turn to know it was Caelum.
"You left before the arguments finished," he said, falling into step beside her.
"They weren't arguments anymore," Aerin replied. "Just the same fears repeating themselves."
Caelum nodded slightly. "Change unsettles those who built their power on the old shape of the world."
She glanced at him then, studying his face in the dim light. Without the crown, he seemed both younger and older at the same time—freer, yet carrying a weight that had once been hidden beneath ceremony.
