The royal carriage moved at a steady pace through the craggy passes of the Blackwood Realm. Outside the thick, glass windows, the white limestone of Oakhaven gave way to the towering pine forests and dark obsidian cliffs of our homeland.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was quiet, save for the rhythmic clatter of iron wheels over stone.
Cassian sat opposite me on the velvet bench, his heavy velvet mantle removed and folded beside him. He sat with his dark tunic unbuttoned at the throat, leaning his elbow against the window frame as his silver eyes quietly traced every line of my face.
For the first hour of our journey back from Oakhaven, neither of us had spoken. We didn't need to. The sheer weight of what we had accomplished at the tribunal—the complete financial subjugation of Cre
