me was

ngs inside Vordenmaar. By listening to everyo

Middle of the bench. Sightlines to both doors. Clear view of the head table where the senior court members took their seats. She filled her plate and

er everyone el

imself because every room he entered had already noticed him. Dark formal robes. A smile that appeared on his face befo

her head with the specific deference of someone who had learn

ctly across

showing that she adju

m and unhurried, the voice of a man who had neve

held them at the exact level

someone completely at home in every room he had eve

d. "Cold. Intere

w made it worse. "You'll find your footing. Some tributes struggle

his mouth. Tributes. Like he had observed sever

epends on the p

pack. The Ossian lowlands have strong histories. Your Alpha

l, the tone of someone answering a simple question

ace with a precision that the warmth covering it didn't quite rea

ached fo

ne slo

it d

Physical strength mostly. Our pac

eryone. It helps me understand how best to support each person's time here. The citadel affects people differentl

ep that

nd the conversation closed as smoothly as it had

t of her meal in

so it felt like neither. The way his eyes tracked her hand moving toward the cup before she answere

asked e

e thirteenth bell. The pattern of questions, always ability, always bloodline, always wrapped

h my chest like a h

alm beneath the table and focused on t

table and walked to the corridor at a pace that had nothing urgent in

im watchin

turned into the east wing passage and kept her hands loose and her face arra

she s

stone. Eyes closed for

he warmth. The way he had watched her reach for the cup bef

he journal. Turned to Lenne's description of the elder and read it slowly in the firelig

in handwriting smaller and harder than the rest

kno

pped once i

ad found on day thirteen, Orvyn had discovered she found it before she could finish writing it down. He had been watc

eady watch