POV: Lyra

The great hall was quiet.

I sat on the throne with the silver banners hanging above my head and the crown my mother had worn resting on my brow. The fire burned low in the hearth, and the shadows danced on the walls, and the only sound was the wind outside the windows.

Jaden stood at my right.

Becca stood at my left.

Selene stood behind me with a scroll in her hands and a look on her face that was serious and steady.

"The reports are in," she said. "The eastern border has been rebuilt. The refugees have been settled. The Shadow Pack survivors have been integrated...