***
King Nazar came to see Adaria as soon as his meeting was concluded with Master Alectus. He had been informed of her return, and he went straight to her bedroom with a broad smile on his face.
“There’s my Angel,” he said as he stepped into the room, only to find Adaria perched on the windowsill with tears streaming down her cheeks. He was by her side in an instant, his smile now replaced with a look of concern.
“What happened to you, Adaria?” he asked. “Was there something along the way? What is it? Tell me, and I’ll make sure that your troubles are removed at once.”
Adaria looked up at him slowly, and she immediately noticed the graying hair across his jaw. He looked thinner than she remembered, and his eyes were sunken in now. This wasn’t the man she’d left when she was on her w
