“Of what?”
“Change,” she said simply. “And the ones who bring it.”
I tried to laugh, but it caught. “You make it sound as if I planned any of this.”
“I know you didn’t. That’s why they’ll blame you for it.”
Her calmness unsettled me more than the rumors. “What do they think I’ve done?”
“They think you’ve made both princes forget their place.”
The words hit harder than I expected. “That’s absurd.”
“It doesn’t have to be true,” she said. “It just has to sound like it could be.”
Before I could answer, Fenrir lifted his head and growled, low and sharp. I turned—and froze.
Kaelith stood in the doorway.
He looked carved from the very walls: all frost and shadow, the faint shimmer of frostlight running down his glove like a vein. His eyes, cold gray, swept the room once before landing on me.
“My prince,” Maeryn said quickly, bowing.
“Leave us,” he ordered, voice low.
Maeryn obeyed without question. Fenrir didn’t. The hound stayed where he was, teeth barely bared. How had his own hound chosen me over him?
Kaelith stepped forward anyway. “You’ve been walking with my brother.”
I folded my arms. “Is that forbidden too?”
His gaze flicked to Fenrir, then back to me. “You know what people are saying.”
“I know they think mortals can’t breathe the same air as fae without owing something in return.”
His jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t encourage him.”
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t stop him, either.”
The words struck colder than the air. “Why should I? He’s kind to me. You aren’t.”
That got his attention. For a moment, something flickered behind his control—something raw, almost human—but it vanished as quickly as it came.
“I’m protecting you,” he said.
“No,” I snapped. “You’re punishing me for what you feel.”
The silence that followed broke me. His eyes darkened, but he didn’t deny it.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“Then explain it,” I said. “Explain why the man who kissed me won’t even look at me, while his brother pretends the world is made of sunlight.”
His breath hitched once, barely audible. “Because I can’t afford what he can.”
Before I could answer, the frostlight above us flared. The temperature dropped enough that the air turned sharp in my throat. He clenched his fists, fighting it back until the light steadied again.
