The air inside the bedchamber was soft and thin, the cool night breeze rustling the curtains as the moonlight poured over the edge of the bed.
Valex sat heavily at the edge of the large bed, his broad shoulders slightly hunched under the weight of an unyielding exhaustion. The dark circles beneath his eyes seemed to deepen in the quiet light.
Odesse closed the heavy oak door behind them, the latch clicking into place with a definitive finality. She turned, her pale gray gown swaying softly around her ankles as she crossed the stone floor. Walking toward the bed with a warm, measured smile, she sat beside him, the mattress shifting under her weight.
She leaned in closer, her voice a soft, grounding anchor in the quiet room. "So, my king. Why don't you tell me the things that give you so much bother?"
