Kael
Someone knocked on the door, sharp and firm.
Kael exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He’d spent the entire day in meetings, three long hours of arguments, maps spread across the table, and men talking over each other. His head ached. He had no patience left.
Another knock, slightly louder this time.
“What?”
The door cracked open, and one of the guards stepped in. “Isolde is back.”
Kael frowned. “Back?”
The guard nodded. “She says she has the stone marker.”
His fingers tightened around the pen in his hand. It was still afternoon. She wasn’t supposed to return until evening, maybe even later if she collapsed along the way.
He had regretted sending her, but he hadn’t expected her to be home his early. Maybe someone had picked her up on the way.
“Send her in.”
The gua
