The fortress was quieter than Ariana had ever known it.
After the storm of revelations, accusations, and Kael’s fierce warning about Lucien, she had expected the night to end in distance. She had expected him to stalk the halls, restless, leaving her to toss alone in their shared bed. Yet instead, he had stayed.
Now the chamber glowed faintly with firelight. The hearth crackled, painting the stone walls in amber hues. Outside, the night wind rattled against the shutters, but within these walls, there was stillness—a fragile stillness Ariana didn’t dare break.
Kael sat at the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, his head bowed. His hands were clasped tightly together, veins standing out with the pressure. He looked like a man who carried the weight of an entire kingdom, and perhaps
