Cordelia Returns

Sophia's POV

She came back on a Tuesday, which felt deliberate — Tuesdays were council days, maximum audience, maximum impact.

She arrived in a carriage bearing the colors of her family house, unannounced, and swept into the castle with the particular energy of a woman who had spent her time away not recovering but regrouping. She was more beautiful than ever, which I suspected had required considerable effort and was its own kind of statement. She had a new lady's companion ...