It takes everything in me not to crumple into a pile on Callum’s floor. “A feast?” Back home, I’d relish the idea of going to a feast. The balls, the gatherings, the summer festivals—I lived for those events. As stifling as they could be, they were the only times when my father saw me as useful—even if I was just a prop to him, or a trophy to dangle in front of visiting kingdoms. But I have been riding for two days, and I haven’t bathed properly, and I don’t have my clothes or my servants or my make-up. I shake my head. “No. I’m not in the mood for a feast. I will retire early tonight, and you can speak to Blake alone.” Callum sighs. “Why don’t you sit down?” He nods at the big four-poster bed to my side and my cheeks heat. I’m an unmarried woman. He can’t possibly expect me to sit

