The evening had been quiet, the fortress settling into the deep silence of the northern night. The fire in my chambers crackled softly, casting dancing shadows on the stone walls, filling the room with warmth and the scent of burning pine. I sat on the window seat, my knees drawn up to my chest, watching the stars appear one by one in the darkening sky. The grey light of dusk had faded to the deep blue of evening, and the first stars were beginning to emerge, scattered across the heavens like diamonds on black velvet.
Kaelen had been distant all day. Not cold, not unkind, but present in a way that felt like absence. He had looked at me across the council table, his winter-gray eyes thoughtful, almost wistful. He had touched my hand in the corridor, a brief, fleeting contact that had sent warmth through my chest. He had sat beside me at the evening meal, close enough to touch, but he had spoken little, his attention turned inward.
