By the time we dragged ourselves out of the archives, the palace lights had shifted to evening.
Aria peeled off toward the Council wing, scroll cases floating behind her like guilty balloons. Riven went the other way, already on a call, voice clipped.
That left me and Kaiden walking the corridor toward the secure floor, smelling like dust and old ink.
“You need food,” he said.
“You need sleep,” I shot back. “Your eyes are doing that weird haunted king thing.”
One corner of his mouth twitched. “Very technical.”
We reached the turn for my corridor. Two guards nodded as we approached, their scents sharp with alertness. The wards over my door flared, recognizing us, then eased.
I stopped just short of the threshold.
“We should talk before I go in,” I said.
Kaiden’s shoulders tensed, i
