Chapter 222

“I remember your last words to me,” she began, her voice smooth as old river stone. “He tells you…”

The pause was deliberate. She let the silence stretch, let it press against the walls, until I could hear my own blood in my ears.

“What?” I asked, though my mouth was dry, though my bones already knew the answer.

Her lips curved faintly, the ghost of a smile with no kindness in it. “Your King. Your