Odett’s POV
The report delivered beneath the holiday lights changed the rest of winter break. By morning, three Royal Guard vehicles waited in the courtyard, and Orian had redrawn the patrol schedule. Mom tried to keep the younger children occupied, but even Zander stopped complaining when she sent them upstairs. I watched Dad’s office door and wondered what Sam had written.
Sam was alive. Dad had told me that much, and I repeated it whenever my thoughts strayed toward the dreams. His report had arrived, but no letter came with it. Each guard who entered the office made it harder to believe there was nothing else I needed to know.
‘They are still hiding something,’ Lorilie said with a restless growl inside my mind.
‘I know,’ I replied silently with growing frustration as I continued wa
