Chapter fifteen

The palace slumber proved elusive, but eventually sleep claimed me. Waking with a stretch, I lay there for a moment, a blank canvas upon which the day's possibilities could be painted. Back home, mornings began with a familiar rhythm – the creak of the kitchen door being pushed open, the clatter of pots, the reassuring hiss of the stovetop igniting. Here a strange quiet pressed down on me.

A pang of worry for Cody, my loyal sous-chef, flickered in my chest. How was he managing without me? Just then, Mira entered, her smile as bright as the morning sun.

"Good morning, Annie," she chirped. "Prince Damian is waiting for you in the garden. He asked me to escort you down once you woke."

"Right, of course," I mumbled, a yawn escaping my lips. This whole situation still felt like something out of a fantastical story.