KAEL
I forced my shoulders to loosen as I settled deeper into the chair. The wood creaked under my weight. I focused on breathing slow and steady. I pushed everything else aside. This was work. This was duty.
“Tell me about your house,” I said.
When Alaric and his soon-to-be bride finally left, I returned to my room expecting quiet. I expected empty space and clean air.
Instead, someone was already there.
Corvin stood by the window, looking down at the street below. He turned when the door closed behind me and scanned the room with a look of mild disgust.
“I don’t think bleach will solve this,” he said. “You might have to burn the whole place before the hotel lets another soul sleep here.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. I had ordered the sheets changed the moment I left that morning. I ha
