The drive to the palace took four hours through winding mountain roads that gradually
transformed from wild forest to manicured estates. Fiona watched the landscape
change through the car window, each mile taking her further from everything she knew.
Callum sat beside her in silence, occasionally glancing her way but respecting her need
for quiet. She was grateful for that, at least. She didn't have words for what she was
feeling—grief, fear, resignation, all tangled together in a knot she couldn't untie.
When the palace finally came into view as dawn broke over the mountains, Fiona's
breath caught despite herself. It was even more magnificent in daylight than it had been
the night of the mating ball. The white stone seemed to glow in the early morning sun,
towers reaching toward
