Page 46 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

I moved silently, hugging the shadows as I followed the faint murmur of voices. The castle corridors were mostly empty at this hour, the flickering torchlight casting dancing shadows along the stone walls.

The voices led me to a half-open door.

A royal bedchamber.

I pressed myself against the door frame, careful not to be seen, peering inside just enough to see the occupants.

Zander stood beside a lavish, canopied bed, tucking a little girl beneath the thick layers of blankets.

She couldn’t have been older than seven or eight, with loose blond curls spilling across her pillow and bright, lavender eyes that matched his.

His sister.

Elara Rayne.

I had never seen Zander look like this before—his usually sharp, commanding posture softened as he knelt beside the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

“You were gone a long time,” Elara murmured, blinking up at him sleepily.

Zander gave her a small, tired smile. “I had training.”

“Did you win?” she asked, her voice drowsy but curious.

He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Not today.”

Elara’s brows furrowed. “But you always win.”

Zander reached out, brushing a stray curl from her face. “Even I lose sometimes.”

She studied him for a moment before tilting her head. “Theron says that losing means you were weak.”

Zander’s expression darkened.

For a moment, he was silent, his jaw tightening—but then he exhaled and placed a gentle hand on her forehead.

“Our brother is wrong.” His voice was quiet. “Sometimes losing means you get better. That you learn from your mistakes.”

Elara yawned, mulling over his words, her tiny hand reaching out to grasp his wrist.

“You don’t have to go again, do you?” she murmured.

Zander hesitated.

I watched as something unspoken passed through his expression, something burdensome.

“No,” he finally said, his voice gentler than I had ever heard it. “Not now. Let’s get you back to bed, it’s too early for you to be awake.”

Elara smiled sleepily, her grip on his wrist loosening.

“Good. I sleep better when you’re here.”

Zander watched her for a long moment, his eyes unreadable, before leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

I felt something tighten in my chest.

This was a side of Zander I had never seen.

Not the ruthless noble, not the cold, calculated soldier, not the arrogant prince who had sneered at my existence in his ranks.