Logan avoided the dining hall entirely for three days.
He trained alone in the early mornings instead, before the court woke, and took his meals privately in his chamber, telling himself the arrangement had nothing to do with the strange pull still lingering beneath his skin since the trial. He had not seen Elena since she walked away from the yard, and some part of him was grateful for that, while another part noticed her absence more than he wanted to admit.
Elena was doing the same, he suspected, judging by how carefully the palace staff avoided mentioning her whereabouts whenever he asked.
He found Kira instead, seated near the stables, sharpening her blade with the same patient focus she brought to everything.
"You have been avoiding the palace," Kira said without looking up.
"I
