[Lior's POV — Morvael Castle — The Same Day — Afternoon]
The moment she left, the castle felt different, quieter, heavier, and somehow colder. I stood in the hall for a moment after he walked away, the echo of his footsteps fading into the distance. No orders followed. No instructions. No guards speaking.
Just silence.
My gaze lingered for a brief second in the direction he had gone, that stillness in his eyes…that strange, hollow quiet—
Then—
"Greetings, my lord." The voice broke through the silence.
I turned slightly.
Two knights stepped forward from behind him, moving in perfect synchronization. Their presence alone altered the space around them.
Their armor was darker than the others I had seen—polished black steel etched with faint engravings that caught the light just enough to reveal a sigil I did not recognize.
Not decorative, not ceremonial, something else, something… personal.
