that shadows found shelter in places light could never chase them: the space held between two hurried breaths, the hush at the end of a heart

his goblet, his toast ringing over the crowd. "May her marri

om's latest political triumph; others clung to their practiced masks, careful not to reveal wh

le slurred from my right, smile askew from

gown: letters from my mother's chamber, sharp with secrets and heat, pressed close to my hea

cordiality. "I trust Prince Aldric

th delighted giggles, mistaking calculation for innocence.

r toward the floor. I excused myself for air and slipped tow

d skin and fraying composure. The scents of roasted meat and spiced wine

your cel

amed. Before I could think, my hand was already gripping the h

e before me was dressed in black, his face half-shado

brushed by a foreign accent. "Mos

rust, forcing him a step back. "And you

ously genuine. "Who said ass

s straightforward." I circled, observing his move

and eyes stormy with secrets-a face both haunting and disarmingly hands

of meeting princesses

ion with yourself," he replied dispassionately.

nd

ered at the balcony's edge. "Call me Kael. My pu

. Why do you ca

I hadn't shared. "I want to know why you

me. I kept my expression

killed Queen Elena. Yet you're promised to hi

know these things-shouldn't be here. "As

ed help if vengeance is your aim. The Tho

le my a

lusion of safety. "Are you truly prepared for what they want

chilled

ow

rs. I've witnessed the ruin they leave; you're not the o

d trust you

t. "Mutual enemies can becom

with cryptic notes, times, and places-each

am I s

Your mother was far from their fir

d together the scope-family after fa

share

mbition. The power in your blood cou

"And you want to

thing, even if our motives differ. Will you work with s

't protected my mother. I ne

e do I have that you're not sim

t betray me to the guards tonigh

ged in necessity, a crossing of lines from which neither of

you'll kill me.

ct you before the wedding. Trust sparingly-the

fy any of this

s. "Tomorrow, dawn. Examine the third stone from

staring at the map and the night, heartbeat ham

o be salvation or ruin-I pressed the map beside the letters against my heart, feeling the weight o

urtiers toast my engagement, knowing full

Kael knew exactly where and when to find me. The s