SERAPHINA’S POV
Neither Kieran nor I slept after the dream.
By morning, the atmosphere had shifted into something sharper and heavier, as though war itself had crossed our borders and quietly settled into the walls.
I felt the weight of imminent conflict pressing closer, changing not just the atmosphere but everyone inside it.
Movement echoed through every hallway before sunrise had fully broken over the horizon.
Warriors passed in organized streams, carrying weapons and supply cases, while voices from nearby rooms overlapped in hurried discussions. Reports changed hands constantly. Messengers moved between floors without pause.
Even the courtyard below had transformed, with vehicles, equipment crates, and rows of armed warriors filling the open space.
I stood in the strategy room with both hands braced against the edge of the long table, staring down at the map projected beneath me.
The Maldives spread across the surface in glowing fragments of blue and green.
