Liera paused with one hand still resting on the edge of her vanity table, as if her fingers weren't fully convinced she was finished checking her reflection. The mirror caught the hesitant lift of her eyebrows and the faint pinch around her mouth that didn't quite match the soft smile stretching her lips. She took a deep breath, oddly aware of the quiet in her room.
"There," she said, though no one was listening. "Good enough."
She stepped back, straightened her shoulders, and left her room before she could talk herself into another round of pointless adjustments.
The hallway outside was unusually warm for the early hour. She wandered toward the windows that opened toward the east garden, a place usually drowned in shade at this time, but the sun had climbed ahead of its schedule today. Liera stared at it, and something tugged a smile right out of her.
Verona.
