Alera’s POV
We had to cut short our walk after Kael excused himself. He didn’t say much—he didn’t have to. His silence carried the weight of everything he couldn’t voice. I watched him retreat, his shoulders squared, his steps stiff with restraint.
Outwardly, he was composed. Calm. Regal. But I wasn’t fooled.
He was angry.
The rogue had breached the very heart of his territory. That alone was an insult. But the message—that chilling, clawed threat left behind—had struck something deeper. Personal.
I didn’t see Kael for the rest of the day. He disappeared into his duties, meetings, strategy sessions, and whatever else a king did when his land was threatened and his people unsettled. The palace felt colder without him in it. Or maybe that was just me, feeling strangely out of place with
