oppressive blanket, heavier than the summer

the air, even after he'd moved to the far side of the room, his back to her, see

ames, an unusual command from her father, had ended abru

mind kept drifting to the way his broad shoulders had filled her peripheral vision, the

vated shield, felt thin, porous. It was bei

, cut through the quiet, making her jump. He

. "My father ensures I am well-ed

lly so guarded, holding a glint of something unr

a subtle challenge. Aria fe

no matter how many books lined its shelves. But his to

n to the servants' quarters. It was a place usually off-limits, but today, her desire for ungu

wandering aimlessly through the bustling kitchens

pots and the hiss of steam, that she heard it. Two kitche

e new guardian? They say he once vanished for a year, presu

ail?" the other pr

hern marches. A protector, yes, but one forged in savage

ipping from her fingers with a soft clink. The maids l

ology and retreated,

ava

mer

sometimes told, hushed tales of warriors fro

whispers seemed to follow her. She heard snatches from other sta

out "cold eyes" and "a man w

ng through the grounds like a wraith. Each snippet painted a darker

predator, and her father had b

comfort, yet it only intensified

embering the brief flicker of something unreadable in

l, drumming against her windowpanes. Aria couldn't

her room and descended the main staircase. Her father was in

was hushed, save for the

e grand hall, not by s

no fire burned, a dark silhouette against the

ut there was a subtle tension in his shoulder

dian and more like a man bur

dden partly by the c

to be staring into the cold hearth, as if seein

y. Lonely, almost. It was a startling thought, one that cla

urned. His eyes, dark in the dim light, m

against the windows, the only sound. Aria felt a strange pul

rofound stillness. It was a silent conversa

ing awareness of him. He was a mystery, a shadow, and for the first time, Aria

smile, did

ickering in the depths of his eyes before he finally, de

nt, lingered in the air, leaving Ari

e, but the man himself was a much more comp