~Author pov Peace felt unfamiliar.Not fragile.Just… distant.Weeks had passed since Eunice’s exile. The pack had steadied. Patrol reports were clean.No border breaches. No political unrest. Even Cassian had gone quiet.Too quiet, perhaps.But silence after chaos is seductive. It makes you believe storms have moved on.Iris stood on the balcony outside Duncan’s study, watching the late afternoon sun bleed into the forest. The estate below was alive with routine,warriors rotating shifts, servants carrying supplies, trainees sparring in the yard.Order.Structure.Control.On the surface, everything was settled.And yet…Alice still wouldn’t look at her.That was the only fracture left.“You’re thinking too loudly.”Duncan’s voice came from behind her, low and almost amused.She didn’t turn immediately.“Is it that obvious?”“To me.”She glanced over her shoulder. He stood in the doorway, sleeves rolled, tension no longer carved into his posture the way it had been weeks ago.He loo
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