Chapter 127: Calm before storm
The palace felt oddly peaceful that morning.
Birds chirped softly from the high windows, and sunlight poured like honey into the halls. It was a rare, sacred silence—one the entire family seemed determined not to break. War hadn't called in days. Maybe even it knew when to rest.
In the royal gardens, Leo lounged beneath a flowering tree, his daughter Rina skipping in dizzy circles around him, singing a song she was clearly making up on the spot.
"Fireball! Fireball! I'm a spicy fireball! Everyone run—unless you wanna be toast!"
Zara, sitting on the bench nearby with a scroll in her lap, chuckled. "Rina, sweetheart, not everything has to rhyme."
"Says the person who fell in love with a poet," Rina teased with a wink at her dad.
Leo snorted. "She got me for the looks. The poetry was a bonus."
From the other side of the garden, Cain strolled in, his arms around Selene. Her small bump was starting to show, and Caelan and Azrael Jr. trailed behind them, tossing sparks at each other like it was normal family bonding.
"She's going to blow up the pond," Azrael muttered, dodging a spark.