Dawn arrived gray over Ivanova.
Not peaceful gray.
Not soft morning light.
But the kind that looked exhausted before the day had even begun.
Smoke still lingered over parts of the kingdom from the previous battles along the outer defenses. The city below the palace had grown quieter in recent days, but it was not the quietness of safety.
It was the quietness of people waiting for disaster.
Inside the palace, servants moved carefully through corridors carrying trays of watered wine and smaller portions of food than before. Even the nobles had begun noticing it now.
The siege was tightening.
And everyone could feel it.
King Ivan walked through the eastern corridor with two guards following several steps behind him, but even their presence did little to hide how troubled he looked.
He had not slept.
The shadows beneath his eyes had deepened overnight, and his thoughts still echoed with the words spoken within the Oracle Chamber.
Blood of heaven and ruin.
