Loretta was walking toward Selena's room that morning when she saw Kael step out of Selena's room and close the door quietly behind him.
A million reasons why he was leaving Selena's room that early rushed through her mind, and she decided there was no better way to know the truth than to ask him herself.
She did not confront him immediately. Instead, she moved back into the shadow of a pillar and watched him walk down the hall.
The hallway was quiet at that hour, washed in pale morning light that slipped through tall arched windows and stretched across the stone floors. Dust floated softly in the air, glowing in the sunlight. The palace felt still, unaware of what had just happened behind that closed door.
He was not rushing. He was not trying to hide where he had been. Yet there was tension in his shoulders, in the firm set of his jaw, in the careful rhythm of his stride. His hands were clenched at his sides as if he were holding something inside.
