Chapter 17

• AUBREY
• I watch Knox's retreating figure until he disappears around a bend in the garden path, his broad shoulders stiff with tension beneath his blood-spattered uniform. The evening breeze rustles through the cherry trees surrounding the pavilion, sending a shower of pale pink petals swirling around me like snow. My fingers trace the cool marble of the bench where we sat just moments ago, the ghost of his touch still lingering on my skin.
• Relief washes over me as I release a long-held breath. Thank the Moon Goddess for that timely interruption. Another minute of his intense green eyes searching mine, and I might have forgotten why I'm really here. I smooth down the front of my silk dress—a deep burgundy gown that Queen Grace insisted befits my station as future crown princess—and steel my resolve.