KATHERINE
I didn't get back to the palace until super late. The symposium and the events afterward took up most of the day, and by the time the car pulled into the driveway, I was exhausted. I expected Stephen to be waiting for me, probably ready to ask why I had skipped half my classes, but he wasn't in the foyer. I didn't see him in the dining hall either.
I stopped a passing maid and asked where he was. She told me he had gone to the council chambers for a major meeting that had been called on short notice. Apparently, something big had happened in the human capital of Oslo. I was surprised to hear that.
We rarely got news from the human side of the border unless it involved political treaties or major security breaches.
After the maid left, I stood in the hallway for a minute. The
