A Claim to Power

Nyra's POV

I stood alone in the great hall.

The torches flickered low, throwing shifting shadows against the stone walls, and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart. It wasn’t from fear. Not exactly. It was the weight of inevitability settling on my shoulders like a second skin.

Selene’s letter sat unopened on the table now, though we had all read it. Three lines. That was all it took to rip a seam straight through the fragile fabric of peace we’d stitched together these last few weeks.

She was pregnant.

Or at least, she claimed to be.

The implications weren’t lost on any of us. Not on Draven. Not on the council. And certainly not on me.

I didn’t sleep that night.

I stared at the ceiling until dawn crept in, and when the knock came at my door just after sunrise, I already knew what it would be about.

“Nyra,” came Draven’s voice.

I opened the door slowly. He was still in his clothes from the night before, like he hadn’t slept either.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Of course, we