The dining room was unusually quiet.
Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting warm rectangles across the long wooden table. Breakfast had been laid out with the usual care.
Fresh bread, fruit, eggs, and pots of steaming tea but no one seemed particularly interested in eating.
Ardyn sat at the head of the table, his fingers wrapped loosely around a cup he had not lifted. His gaze kept drifting across the table, landing on Thoren, then sliding to the woman seated beside him.
Serene sat opposite her husband, her posture composed, her expression carefully neutral. But her eyes followed the same path to her son and then to Fidelia, back to her son again.
As for Fidelia, she sat beside Thoren, wearing a simple dress bought for her by Thoren. Her hair had been brushed and pinned back, but a few stubborn strands still escaped.
She kept her eyes on her plate.
Fidelia felt their gazes like weights pressing down on her shoulders.
Ardyn's calm, assessing stare.
