*Saoirse*

I braced myself as I entered my parents' sitting room, news of the royal summons weighing heavy on my tongue. My father sat rigid in his worn leather armchair, his face half-hidden behind the newspaper.

My mother perched tensely on the sofa next to Conall, whose stormy expression warned he already knew something was amiss. No one smiled in greeting at my arrival.

Swallowing hard, I forged ahead to break the uneasy silence. “I have been summoned to ...