Thoren
The gardens had never been quieter.
Nearly fifty guests filled the curved rows of chairs beneath the ancient trees, yet the low murmur of conversation barely reached the altar. Even the technicians stationed behind the cameras spoke in hushed voices as they completed their final checks, aware that the ceremony was already being broadcast across the kingdom.
I should have been watching the guests arrive.
Instead, my gaze moved from the eastern garden wall to the upper windows of the castle, then across the rooftops visible beyond the trees. Guards stood at every entrance, with additional patrols positioned outside the walls and along the surrounding roads. Kael had checked every post before leaving to join Nevara, and Salas had personally inspected the broadcast equipment twice.
