The weight of unseen eyes lingered on my back until I rounded the corner, ascending the stairs with the servant. Only then did the prickling sensation fade, like a shadow retreating into the dusk. I couldn’t resist a glance over my shoulder, catching Lucas’s fleeting figure striding toward the courtyard. His presence was a stark contrast to Henry’s venomous clan—warm, unguarded. Given time, I’d have lingered, unraveling stories of my mother with him. Since my parents’ deaths, no one had spoken of her with such quiet reverence.
I steadied myself, tucking her memory deep within, and turned to the servant. “Did Addie say what she wanted?”
“No, he—oh, *she*—just said to get you there quickly.”
*He?* A knowing spark flickered in my chest. This was Nate’s mischief at work. Where he’d stashed
