Elara's POV
I knew Lena had a hundred and one questions to ask, but she gave me the time I needed before she began. A knock at the door came before either of us could move.
Not the soft, apologetic knock of a servant. Three sharp raps, official, the kind that didn't wait for permission. The kind that meant something had happened or was about to happen, and the person on the other side of the door wasn't asking if they could come in, they were announcing that they were coming.
I straightened instinctively, something in me shifting back into queen before I'd consciously decided to. Lena's hand was still in mine. I felt her fingers tighten around mine, her grip suddenly hard, like she was holding on to something that was about to be taken away.
"Enter."
