Aria POV
The garden was quieter than the rest of the estate, tucked behind the east wing where the noise of preparations for the ball hadn't yet reached. A small table had been set beneath one of the flowering trees, three cups of tea steaming gently despite the mild afternoon, and I'd barely settled into my chair before Wren arrived, trailed by two guards who peeled off toward the garden's edge the moment she waved them away.
"Aria." Wren lowered herself into the seat across from me. "I hoped I'd find you before the day got away from us."
Calla arrived only a moment later; I wondered if it was intentional, as though I'd been set up by them both after what Calla had seen that morning. She took the third chair without waiting to be invited, a wide smile on her face despite her reaction e
