Servants lowered their eyes when they passed Lucien in the halls.

Guards stiffened at their posts, their ears sharp, their nostrils twitching as though they scented something rotten in the air.

And Rhea felt it all.

Her room was lit only by the pale glow of the moon seeping through the high window. She sat at the edge of her bed, knees drawn close, her fingers digging into the blanket.

Her thoughts returned again and again to the words she had overheard… silver ...