CHAPTER 70 – SILK AND THORNS

THE palace gardens were designed beautifully. Silk-soft pathways with blooming hedges and moonlit fountains, every petal arranged with care, every fragrance made to soothe.

It was a place meant for peace—for lovers’ strolls and whispered promises beneath starlight.

Phoenix moved through the garden as if she had always owned it. Anyone watching would have seen confidence incarnate. What they would not see was the sharpness beneath it.

She had not come here ...