Draven.
The study door clicked shut behind Dennis, leaving the fire’s glow to burn against silence.
My thoughts lingered on Wanda for a mont longer—her pleading, her tears, her betrayal—but I was finished wasting breath on her. She was already a shadow to .
What I needed now was sothing that steadied . Soone... And there was no perfect presence that my wife’s.
So, I pushed away from the desk and strode out into the corridor, the weight in my chest easing with every step I took toward the third floor.
The hallways were quieter now, servants moving like whispers as they tidied up from breakfast.
A few bowed as I passed, but my mind was already ahead—imagining silver hair spilling over pale shoulders, soft eyes lifting when I entered.
By the ti I reached my chambers, I could hear the faint rustle of fabric and the clink of porcelain.
I opened the door and there she was—curled on the settee by the window with a teacup in her hands, sunlight spilling across her face like it belonged there.
She looked up the instant she heard , and that small, warm smile of hers disard the last remnants of anger Wanda had left festering in .
"You took a while," she said softly, setting the cup down. "Was it important?"
It was necessary," I admitted. "But I would rather be here."
I closed the distance between us, every step unhurried—deliberate, and gathered her against . She leaned in naturally, as though she had been waiting for all along.
The scent of her, soft and clean, sank into my lungs, soothing the storm inside. For a while, I only held her, letting the silence speak.
"You sll like firewood," she teased against my chest.
"And you sll like peace," I murmured into her hair.
Her chuckle was low, warm, and I felt it vibrate against . For a mont, we simply stood there, breathing each other in, the world outside the chamber door fading to irrelevance.
I leaned back just enough to study her face, brushing my thumb along her cheek. "You have no idea how much I missed this," I confessed, my voice rougher than I intended.
Her eyes softened, silver irises catching the light. "Then don’t leave waiting so long next ti."
I lowered my forehead to hers, letting the quiet between us say what words couldn’t. Here, in her presence, there was nothing like a storm brewing in my heart or my mind.
A few monts later, I released her from my arms. And she tilted her head, studying with that quiet, knowing look that had begun to undo in ways nothing else could.
But there was sothing I needed to tell her—sothing she deserved to know.
"redith," I said quietly, pulling back enough to et her eyes. "I’ve decided to send Wanda back to Stormveil. She will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
I felt her body still, just slightly. Her brows furrowed as she searched my face.
"Why so suddenly?" she asked, her voice gentle but tinged with curiosity.
I didn’t hesitate outwardly, though inside, the truth clawed at .
"Because," I said evenly, "she revealed classified information to her father. Information that found its way to the council, and was used to query during the etings back in Stormveil."
Her lips parted in surprise, her purple eyes sharpening. "She... did that?"
I nodded once. "Yes."
What I didn’t say pressed against my tongue—that the information had also been about her, about my forr plan to use her as a pawn in the political ga. Sha stirred deep in .
I could still hear the council’s voices, the accusations, the way Reginald twisted Wanda’s betrayal into a weapon.
But this wasn’t the right ti. I had just returned to her, and she had greeted with nothing but warmth, with love.
I wasn’t ready to risk shattering it with an ugly truth that belonged to a past version of —a man I no longer was.
’Soon,’ I told myself. ’I will co clean soon.’
redith’s gaze lingered on , searching, weighing. For a mont, I feared she saw through my omission. But then she exhaled softly, her hand lifting to rest against my chest.
"If that’s what she did... then she deserves to leave," she said.
I covered her hand with mine, squeezing it gently. "She does," I murmured, though inside, my promise echoed again:
Soon, redith. You will know everything soon.
For now, I pulled her closer, burying my jaw against her hair, holding tight to the one truth I couldn’t deny—this woman in my arms was no pawn. She was my peace.
---
~**redith**~
When Draven ntioned that he had brought back so of our local foods from Stormveil and left to retrieve them, I let out a long breath and sank into the couch.
The silence of the room wrapped around like a heavy cloak, and for the first ti that evening, I allowed my thoughts to wander.
Wanda...
Her na itself carried a bitter taste on my tongue. Even though I should have been rejoicing that Draven had finally decided to send her away, I couldn’t stop replaying it all in my mind.
"She loved him," I thought, unsettled. "Anyone with eyes could see it. Her devotion, her possessiveness... all of it scread love. So why betray him?"
"Love is not always as steady as it looks," Valmora’s voice whispered in the depths of my mind, rich and calm. "Sotis it twists into envy, into resentnt. Sotis, it corrodes instead of strengthens."
I frowned, tugging absentmindedly at the sleeve of my gown. "But... to betray him like that? To give information to her father, knowing it could ruin him? That doesn’t sound like soone who loves."
Valmora humd. "Perhaps she thought she had no choice and wanted to please her father. Perhaps anger clouded her. Or perhaps she wanted to hurt him for not choosing her."
The idea settled uneasily in . I shook my head. "Still... Wanda never seed like the type to give up on her love for him. Not so easily. She endured watching at his side, she endured his coldness toward her—so why snap now?"
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