I forced myself out of the water, hands trembling slightly as I dressed. The closet was filled with silks and velvets far richer than anything I had ever worn in my old pack, yet my fingers settled on a soft cream dress, modest but clinging in places I wished it wouldn’t. I tied the sash around my waist, trying not to think about whether I was dressing for myself… or for them.
By the time I made my way down the grand staircase, I could already feel it, the tension. It rolled like smoke through the corridors, thick and stifling.
The dining hall doors opened, and three pairs of eyes lifted toward me.
Darius sat slouched in his chair, jaw tight, one hand fisted around his fork. Draven sat tall, rigid, every line of his body carved from stone, though his gaze followed me like a blade. And D
