Senna
I told myself I was ready. I spent a whole week telling myself that. Ready for Aela.
I was in the great hall, putting out the little jars of herbs and the rolled-up scrolls for the medical consultations. Bits of my job. Important bits. It was the second time diplomats from Thornhaven were coming to Ironblood.
Then she walked in.
Aela. She came in ahead of everyone else. Just her, and then her guards a few paces behind. She looked around the big room. Her eyes found me where I knelt by the long table. I tried to just keep doing my work, acting like I hadn't noticed her. But I saw it. The way her face changed. Just a little. A softening. Like she wasn't mad or anything, just… surprised. And then it was gone. No one else would have seen it. But I did.
"You're here early," Aela sa
