Chapter 98

• KAEL
• They both smiled at me, warm and open, and something inside my chest shifted. I hadn’t realized how much I owed Rowan until this moment. Gratitude pressed in, heavy and steady.
• Years ago, two of his soldiers had been out patrolling through the snow during a harsh winter. They found my sisters half-buried in white, shaking and barely breathing. They could have walked past. They didn’t. They carried them all the way back to Veilshade Peak. Rowan gave them shelter without demanding answers.