Sophia
The moment Queen Elise and Caleb walked into the great hall together, carrying my babies, I felt the atmosphere shift beside me.
Erick stiffened.
It was subtle, almost unnoticeable to anyone else.
His jaw tensed, his lips thinned, and a small crease appeared between his brows.
It was the kind of expression he wore only when something bothered him so deeply he struggled to hide it.
But I felt it.
His emotions rolled off him in waves, quiet but unmistakable to someone who had begun to learn him, piece by piece.
As his mother moved forward with my son in her arms, and Caleb followed with my daughter, I caught the faint frown Erick hadn’t managed to erase.
At first, I thought I imagined it, but then I saw the way his gaze sharpened when Caleb stepped up beside Queen Elise.
