Usually, I could drown in logistics, let the structure and repetition numb everything else clawing at me. But today, even the comfort of busywork couldn’t reach me.
Toby’s research on Liora had turned up nothing.
Just wolfless. No palace connection. No noble lineage. No hidden crest in her pocket. I kept waiting for a twist, for something to justify the way she carried herself like she belonged in every room, but there wasn’t one. She had no power. No claim. And yet I couldn’t forget the way she looked at me. I thought there had to be more.
There wasn’t.
And somehow, that stung more than it should have. I cursed the delusion that allowed me to feel hope.
“You’ve been staring at that page for ten minutes,” Drake said from the desk to my side. “You’re either in love or losing your visi
