CHAPTER 26 —The Ceremony of Convenience
Peter
I woke up feeling like I had not slept at all. The morning light pushed through the heavy velvet curtains of my chambers. It cut across the floor, across the scattered papers on my desk and the silver goblet I had abandoned the night before. My head throbbed, not from drink, but from the weight of too many thoughts that had refused to quiet.
Carolyn’s face had followed me into my dreams again, I was getting used to it already. I sat up slowly, rubbing my hands down my face. The sheets were cold and the bed felt too large and empty.
A sharp burst of noise cut through the silence of the morning. Voices, too many voices and laughter, the clink of metal and the low hum of a crowd gathering.
I frowned. No meeting had been scheduled and no counc
