“Keep your distance, Talon Veyr,” I warned.
The faintest hint of amusement touched his eyes.
“Impossible, Kaelia.”
“How do you know my name?” I forced out, my jaw tight.
A slow grin stretched his full lips. “How do you know mine?”
What a silly question.
The answer was obvious. Every soul in Haelen knew his name.
He held my gaze one heartbeat longer, then he turned.
“Take care of yourself,” he called out.
My eye twitched at his tone, and a petulant part of me wanted to stomp my foot.
The crowd parted instantly, bending around him in silent submission. His dark silhouette cut through the sunlight as he disappeared beyond The Great Hall of Lumina.
The market noise returned in uneven fragments, conversations slowly starting back up.
Looking around, I noticed everyone’s eyes darting around before they moved, as if to check the Veythar were no longer here.
I could not fault them.
It was not common for Talon to show his face without ceremony or summons. When the Master of Veythar movedthrough a district, it was usually for collection, punishment, or decree.
Today none had been the reason.
No proclamation. No visible arrest.
He had simply walked the square.
Seeing him stride through a mundane market day, past figs and woven baskets and children clutching sugared bread, felt like a blade laid casually across the throat of the city.
A reminder that the High Court did not need spectacle to exercise control.
It only needed to be seen.
2
CHAPTER TWO
The walk home felt endless today, the cobblestones slick with the evening dew and seemingly stretching into infinity under my boots.
The sun bled slowly into the horizon, staining the sky a bruised purple and stretching every shadow thin and jagged across the lane. Each darkened edge felt like a reaching finger, a reminder of the men that had interrupted a mundane work day.
Even now, I could still detect the faint trace of smoke and ozone clinging to my skin. It was subtle but unmistakably Talon.
Our cottage stood at the edge of the ward, timber beams weathered by seasons of wind and rain, whitewashed stone catching what remained of the fading light. The woods pressed close behind it, their darkening canopy swallowing the last gold of day.
I pushed open the heavy oak door, the familiar creak quietening the chatter inside.
The inviting aroma of roasted root vegetables enveloped me, causing my stomach to grumble in hunger.
“Kaelia?”