Chapter 87

• Kael's Pov
• I don’t know what it was about her silence that unsettled me more than her anger. Alera had always been bold, fierce with her words, but the quiet way she nodded and followed me out of that room earlier? That silence was loud in my chest. It echoed in ways I couldn’t quite silence.
• I led her back to my chamber, needing her to understand, to see what I had been trying to build for her. I didn’t want her to doubt where she stood. Everything was already set, flowers in her favorite hues lined the corner of the room, a set of delicate dresses I had asked the seamstress to prepare were hung up on the screen, and on the bed, a set of rare moonstone jewelry from the vault, meant only for someone I considered mine.