If the palace had a heartbeat, it was gossip—soft, poisonous, and always spreading faster than truth.
And I was suddenly at the center of it.
The morning after Arthur’s late-night visit and his sudden kiss, I walked into the kitchen only to feel the air shift. Conversations stopped. Eyes flicked toward me, then away too quickly.
Something was wrong.
Something had changed…As if they knew what transpired between me and him.
I pretended not to notice as I washed my hands, keeping my voice deep and steady, but whispers overshadowed and crawled louder through the room like snakes.
“Did you see the prince last night?”
“He went to Daniel’s quarters…”
“No one else gets the prince’s attention that way.”
“Maybe he likes him…”
And suddenly a bowl slipped from someone’s hands and shattered.
