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Sometimes, it was those closest to you that you needed to watch out for.

Chapter24

KALLIE

Kallie awoketo the sound of paper sliding beneath her door. Heart pounding, she picked up the two letters. One was sealed with the Ardentolian crest, the other with a sigil of a dragon.

She opened her father’s letter first:

Kalisandre,

My return to the castle has been delayed.

K.D.

Kallie didn’t know if her father’s absence was a good or bad thing, for he gave no evidence to suggest either. She searched the contents of his letter for some hidden message but found none.

Had something happened back home? Was he safe? Wouldn’t he tell her if something was wrong? They had a code for that, and his letter did not mention bad weather. Nothing to suggest any danger had fallen upon him. Yet Kallie couldn’t shake the chill that swept over her skin.

Setting her father’s letter down on the vanity, she opened the second letter. Kallie immediately recognized the scratchy handwriting scrawled across the thick piece of parchment.

Dearest Kalisandre,

My presence has been requested on the outskirts of Frenzia. I will be back in five days.

Yours, Rian

“Five days?” Kallie asked out loud. That was only a day before the wedding week began. What could require the king’s attention days before his own wedding?

Chapter25

GRAESON

Their pace wasslow as they trudged through the wetland. Usually, Graeson enjoyed riding, for there was a sense of freedom in it. This time, however, Graeson only felt trapped, locked in by time. He wished he could do something other than ride. He wanted to fight, to slaughter. And for once, the beast within his mind agreed with him.

Ellie continued to try to make small talk with him. Once he had filled her in with the details of what she had missed since they had last seen each other, the frivolous questions began.

At first, her questions were simple and ridiculous: “If you could eat anything in the world, what would it be?”

Then they turned philosophical: “Do you think the grass feels pain when we ride across it?”

And then, they were utterly outlandish: “If a kelpie jumped out of the water, sliced your horse’s heels off, and brought you beneath the waters, what would you do?”

When she had asked, Graeson had glared at her. “I would die, Ellie.”

“You wouldn’t fight it?”

Graeson had groaned and rode further ahead of her.

Just beyond the border of Tetria and Borgania, they set up camp, and Graeson finally put an end to her questions.

Ellie tossed the remnants of her dinner into the fire, then wiped her hands along the sides of her pants. “You wish to sit in silence? Fine,” she said, frowning as she leaned back on her palms.

“Thank the gods,” Dani mumbled beside her.

When Ellie gave Dani a cold stare, she lifted her head propped up on the arm resting on her knee. “What? Everyone’s thinking it. You talk a lot, Ellie. That cannot come as a surprise to you.”

Ellie arched a brow. “I liked it better when you were across the sea.”