After delivering his report, the shadowy figure by the window disappeared like smoke on the wind — soundless, weightless, as if he'd never been there at all.
Sensing the shift in my breath, Jasper rose to his feet, walked over, and sat beside me. He took my trembling hand into his own, steady and warm against the fury burning beneath my skin.
"Shh… just say the word, and I'll bring that wench here for you."
The corner of my lips twitched, caught between half mockery and half despair. If only problems could be solved with a single thrust of a sword.
Killian was still unconscious. Aurora had begun spreading the rumor that she was pregnant with his child. No one could confirm whether it was truth or fabrication.
But with royal blood supposedly growing in her belly, the court would rally to protect her at all costs, another puppet in their political theater.
"No, Jasper." I sighed, pulling my hand from his grasp to rub at the ache building behind my brow.
