Ivy’s POV“Another visitor?” I asked quietly.

Leah, the maid from earlier whose name I’d finally learned, nodded, folding her hands neatly in front of her. “Yes. He arrived this morning.”

I hummed in response, though the words barely registered. Another one? First, Alaric had come yesterday, and now this. My chest tightened with an unease I couldn’t quite name.

Leah curtsied and slipped out of the room, leaving me staring toward the window, my reflection faint against the glass. ...