Camron stepped beside her, close enough that his shoulder brushed hers once. “You’re doing that face again.”
“What face?”
“The one where you pretend not to care while clearly planning violence.”
She glanced sideways. “And you’re doing yours.”
“Which one?”
“The one where you think flirting makes you useful.”
He grinned. “It can be both.”
Vaelor returned carrying a narrow silver case bound in tide-runes. He offered it to Azaliyah with both hands.
“For the heir of gate and crown,” he said. “Your mother left this in my keeping.”
The case clicked open by itself.
Inside lay a crescent-shaped key made of moonlit metal… and it was already glowing.
Vaelor gently lifted the key from the case. Moonlight gathered around the metal despite the daylight sky.
“One of six Gate Keys,” he said. “
