Rain drummed on the carriage roof. Kaelen sat rigid beside me and watched it run down the glass. He had said nothing since we left the hall.
Aian slept across my lap under a fur blanket.
The carriage stopped hard enough to throw me against the cushions. Aian stirred, and I settled a hand on his back.
Outside, the guards shouted.
“What is it?” Kaelen’s voice was sharp, instantly back in command.
A royal guard appeared at the window. “Your Majesty, a man threw himself in front of the horses.”
I already knew who it was.
Kaelen reached for the door. I stopped his hand. “Stay.”
Caleb knelt in the mud between the carriage lanterns. He wore the bonding suit I had stitched for the wedding that never happened.
Rain had soaked it to his skin and washed mud across the fine cloth.
“Sera! Ple
