Sophia's POVIt happened on a Thursday, three days after the ball, in the small hours of the morning when the castle was at its most honest.

I had been unable to sleep again — this was becoming less a problem and more simply the texture of my nights, lying in the vast bed in the dark, my mind running its cold, efficient calculations while the rest of the castle breathed around me. I had learned to use the sleeplessness productively. I read. I planned. I reviewed the notes Caspian sent me on ...