Kaelen woke to chaos.
The sounds reached him first. Voices. Footsteps. The clatter of porcelain. The unmistakable bustle of servants moving through his quarters at an hour when the sun had barely risen above the horizon.
He sat up, blinking against the morning light. The pendant was still warm against his chest, the residual comfort of the dream shadows lingering in his bones. But that peace was rapidly dissolving as he registered what was happening around him.
His room was filled with flowers.
Every surface was covered with them. Roses, lilies, orchids, blossoms he couldn't even name. They overflowed from vases. They carpeted the floor. They draped over the furniture like a floral invasion. The air was thick with their scent, cloying and sweet and suffocating.
"What in the..." he started.
"Good morning, my lord!"
A servant appeared at his bedside, carrying a silver tray laden with teacups and pastries. She was smiling, bright and eager, as though this was perfectly normal.
