Magnus slowly pushed himself up from the bed, the blanket sliding off his shoulders as his feet touched the cold ground. His expression tightened while he extended his senses outward like invisible threads, spreading them carefully across the surrounding camp.
But nothing appeared.
No hostile aura.
No strange fluctuations.
Only the faint breathing of sleeping soldiers and the gentle hum of ether circulating naturally in the air.
Magnus tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering across his face.
"Strange."
For a moment, he simply stood there in silence.
Then he shook his head lightly.
"Perhaps I'm becoming paranoid."
With a small sigh, the second prince returned to the bed and lay down again.
*
Time passed quietly.
More than three hours slipped by.
The moon slowly crossed the sky as the night deepened toward its coldest hour.
It was around 3:40 in the morning when the camp changed guard shifts.
