Kaelen’s POV
I arrived at the capital hours ahead of schedule.
The carriage had barely stopped before I was striding through the palace’s eastern gate, waving off the steward who rushed forward with a schedule update and a tray of correspondence. None of it mattered. Not the border reports. Not the alliance proposals from the coastal provinces. Not even the intelligence briefing about rogue movement near the northern pass.
Recently, one thing had occupied my mind. One voice.
Twice. I’d heard her speak exactly twice — once through a closed door when the head archivist introduced her to the staff, and once across the corridor when she’d asked a page for directions. Both times, the sound had stopped me mid-stride. A voice like cool water over smooth stones. Quiet. Clear. Carrying an under
