Bringing Her Home

(Kaelen’s POV)

The hallway was quiet, as the marble floors gleamed under the soft light of the palace chandeliers.

I walked slowly toward Father’s study, the silence only broken by the faint ticking of the clock at the end of the corridor. My footsteps echoed, steady and slow, but my mind was anything but calm.

It was noon, and I had been summoned. Not just me— Thalia too.

My thoughts drifted agai