THORNE POINT OF VIEW.

I knew that Aria would be back in the morning.

That knowledge should have calmed me, but instead it sat in my chest like a restless thing, making it hard to focus on anything else. I found myself pacing my office long after the torches were lit, replaying every thought of Aria leaving, every moment she wasn’t within my walls.

I sent for Cairn before I could stop myself.

He came quickly, as he always did, closing the door behind him. One look at my face and he already ...