Chapter 270 Afterlife

• Amval
• I stretch my legs in the evening gloom, grateful and nervous about the fact that the only windows into the ballroom are on the ground. Climbing the temple—and staying up there—is far from easy, but at least I have to worry much less about getting caught. Especially as the sun sets, I am becoming a shadow against the night, a far more obvious onlooker. I’ll have to leave soon.
• I don’t want to. I can just barely see Kaloni from this angle, laughing at the head table with Sibel and Esen. She suits the crown well, and judging by the endless stream of congratulatory dignitaries, long after etiquette dictates those around her have to pay their thanks, she has done well today. A tired smile stretches my lips, almost enough to dull that ache.