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“I had thought it would help spruce up the place a bit, but I couldn’t have predicted that it would result in someone nearly falling to their death,” Kallie said.

As he looked back at the fabric, Rian asked, “And you chose black of all colors because?”

Kallie glanced at him, her brows scrunching together. “Because of Frenzia’s house colors, of course. Black, gold, and red.”

“Ah.” Rian nodded.

She tilted her head. “You act as though that is a strange choice.”

Rian shrugged. “I suppose it is not. But if you wanted to, as you say, ‘spruce up’ the place, should you not have chosen a brighter color? Something more . . . lively, perhaps?”

The corner of Kallie’s mouth tipped upward. “Perhaps, but it’ll be effervescent once the candles are lit and the greenery is everywhere. You’ll see.”

Below them, servants had already begun placing thousands of candles encased in glass cylinders on the tables. A few servants were currently scattering eucalyptus leaves atop the dark oak tables. Even these tiny touches had dramatically impacted the cold, stone palace. It was moody, warm, perfect.

She smiled. “‘Even in the darkness, there is life,’ after all.”

“Everling?”

Kallie nodded, smiling faintly. Despite the thickening awkwardness, she had never had someone to talk to about her favorite books. It was a comfort that she had not known she had been missing until she had met Rian. And yet . . .

The king grew quiet, and Kallie glanced up at him. Rian stared at her with a look she could not entirely read. It was almost as if he was trying to see through her, see within her, but he couldn’t.

She dropped her gaze.

She needed to be careful with him. Rian may have been quiet, but he was not a fool. He always seemed to be silently watching. He never said too much, never gave too much away about what he was thinking.

Kallie brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “How was the trip?”

Rian sighed, his shoulders sinking with the weight of it. “Complicated.”

Kallie’s brows furrowed. “How so?”

He shook his head. Apparently, he was still reluctant to share the ongoings of his kingdom with her.

“What happened, Rian?” Kallie asked, the command seeping into her words, her gift rising to meet her irritation.

“Our men were slaughtered.”

Kallie inhaled. “There was an attack?”

Rian nodded, his fingers wrapping around the railing.

“Why would they have called their king out then? Wouldn’t that put you in a precarious situation?”

“The location had already been secured. How the assailants knew our men would be there remains a mystery.”

“Hmm.” The hairs at the back of her neck stood.

“Do you know who was behind it?”

“No. Sebastian and I had to flee before we could identify them.”

“That’s—”

Kallie jumped.

Glass shattered down below, shards skittering across the floor. Lystrata shouted at the servant who had dropped the glass.