The departure of the Eastern delegation left Athax quieter than it had been in months.
The courtyard that had once been crowded with gold-and-green banners and supply wagons now held only the usual rhythm of guards, courtiers, and messengers moving between duties. The echoes of farewell horns had long faded, but their absence lingered like a hollow space in Aya's chest she refused to name.
Peace, she had learned, did not mean stillness. It meant work of a different kind.
She filled her days accordingly.
