Chapter 317: The First Step
The door of her chambers closed behind them, shutting out the noise of the waking fortress. The latch clicked softly, a sound that seemed too final for such a fragile moment. The fire had burned low in the hearth, casting long shadows across the stone walls, and the room was cold, cold as the space between them had been for the past few days, cold as the silence that had stretched between them like a frozen river.
Kaelen stood just inside the threshold, his hand still resting on the iron latch, his winter-gray eyes fixed on her face. He looked like a man who had been walking through a storm and had finally found shelter—worn, weary, but hopeful.
