I sit in Lucian's study, the rhythmic crunch of apple slices and the sweetness of grapes the only things keeping my physical body grounded while my mind races through page after page of dense legal jargon.
Across the room, Lucian and my brother are hunched over their own mountain of scrolls, their hushed murmurs and scratching quills filling the air.
They seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough with the decoding, but I can't focus on that right now. Not after what I saw.
The heavy doors creak open, and Kael steps in. I don't even look up—I can feel the betrayal radiating off him. He's clearly wounded that I ditched him for Grandpa Eldric again, especially after I saddled him with taking Mirael and Elena out of room.
