ZURI

The tray clinked softly as the maid set it down.

“Leave it on the table,” I said quietly, not turning from the window. The girl bowed quickly and hurried out, shutting the door behind her.

The room became still. The soft sound of the wind moving through Magnikka’s high towers filled the silence.

Outside, the kingdom was alive again with people sweeping the streets, merchants reopening shops that had been shuttered for months, and children chasing each other between the market ...