The fortress of Dorgun Kingdom was ugly. Kabil had made his peace with that in the first week.
What he had not made peace with was Princess Torgana.
He had assessed her with the same methodical cruelty he applied to any obstacle. She was loud, aggressive, and entirely unaware of the spectacle she made, and he believed it was the product of a father who never said "no" and a court too terrified of her temper to try. In Tughril's court, she would have been eaten alive before her teenage years. Here, she was the king's favorite daughter and the most direct path to the king's ear.
Kabil swallowed what he needed to swallow and went to find her.
She was on the stone balcony overlooking the training yard. The moment she heard his footsteps, her face lit up with an unshielded enthusiasm that made him cringe. In his world, visible joy was a vulnerability.
"Kabil." She said his name like a prize she'd been holding since dawn, and just hearing how she called his name made him cringe.
