The troubles of the night was long behind us leaving only chaos and shadows dancing along the stone walls. I sat curled in the far corner of Kristen’s study, my knees pulled to my chest, staring at nothing. I hadn’t expected him to summon me here tonight, not after the exhausting chaos of the ball, not after the whispers that still clung to me like smoke.

But Kristen had been waiting.

The silence stretched between us, heavy, unrelenting. I could feel his gaze on me—steady, ...