LYRA

The silence in the study stretched so tight I thought it might snap and shatter everything in the room, Riven stood in the doorway taking in the scene with eyes that tracked from me to Kael and back again, noting the tea cups and the intimate arrangement of chairs near the fire, the way his brother and I were alone together in a space clearly meant to be private.

"What is she doing here?" His voice came out strained, barely controlled beneath a facade of princely composure that was ...