The teams left under moonlight. I watched from the wall until their torches became distant sparks, then turned my focus inward. The keep felt watchful tonight. Every shadow stretched longer. I doubled the nursery guard and walked the corridors myself, checking doors and faces. Sleep stayed far away.
Near the deepest hour, a muffled cry cut through the quiet. I ran.
The nursery door stood ajar. One guard lay slumped against the wall, throat opened clean. Inside, a lean figure in servant's gray bent over the bed where my children slept. Steel glinted in his hand above Thorne's small chest.
I didn't shout. I moved.
My shoulder slammed him sideways before the blade fell. We crashed into the low table, scattering carved toys. The man twisted like a snake, knife slashing at my ribs. I caught his wrist, twisted hard, and heard bone snap. He screamed. I drove my knee into his gut and pinned him to the floor.
Lila woke first, eyes wide. "Mama!"
