The morning that broke over the Moonlight Pack carried a deceptive tranquility. The crisp dawn sun painted the sky in brilliant shades of blue, and the carefree melody of songbirds echoed through the courtyard. Yet, inside the palace walls, the air remained ghost-thick with the lingering residue of the curse, a heavy pressure that had only slightly eased with the passing of the night cycle.
Odesse sat rigidly before her vanity mirror, her heart hammering a fractured rhythm against her ribs. Her face in the glass was starkly pale, and her fingers felt unnaturally stiff—the literal physical toll of carrying Azure's dark magic in her veins. Beside her, a trusted female servant worked with hurried, trembling hands, applying layers of heavy cosmetics to mask the Queen's fading color.
"Your highness..." the servant whispered, her voice laced with quiet anxiety as she dusted the final layer of powder over Odesse's cheekbones. "Is this enough?"
