The next evening arrived too quickly and not quickly enough.
Selene and Damian went through the day normally, each hour crawling by with excruciating slowness while simultaneously rushing toward the inevitable moment. Royal duties performed with mechanical precision—signing documents without reading them, nodding at reports without hearing them, smiling at courtiers without seeing them. Public appearances maintained with the practiced ease of years wearing crowns, their faces perfect masks of normalcy even as dread coiled tighter in their chests with each passing moment. Acting like everything was fine, like the world wasn't about to shatter.
