No one slept.

The palace moved in low, controlled urgency—footsteps softened by enchantment, voices kept hushed even behind sealed doors, magic woven carefully as if even sound might draw attention. Wards were reinforced three times over before dawn, each layer tuned differently, overlapping like interlocked shields—defensive, deceptive, suppressive.

Still, the hum beneath the stone never stopped.

It lived in the walls.

In the foundations.

In the marrow of the city ...