Gaven
The seat beside me is empty. It shouldn't matter. I've eaten at this table a thousand times, held council here, broken bread with warriors who would die at my word. Chairs are furniture. Space is space.
And yet, the moment she steps into the room, my focus narrows until everything else around me dulls.
Fern pauses at the edge of the dining hall, clearly overwhelmed, her gaze sweeping the packed tables with something close to panic. She looks different this morning. Not transformed, just... cared for. The dress she wears fits her properly, soft fabric skimming her frame instead of hanging from it. Her hair is smoothed back from her face, still wild at the ends, still hers.
She is stunning, there is no other word for her, and I don't miss how the other men in the room not
