Back Where 186
I have come here often and never once has my heart thudded the way it does now. My horse came to a stop before White Pack, and I sat still on it, uneasy.

Panic rises in me, sharp and relentless. I can feel her energy inside. Tonight she is here, not in her pack. For what seems like an eternity I remain in the saddle, staring, hoping, wondering.

Xyrrha had spoken back there, claiming I would never have Zephyrine because of something I had done in the battlefield I could not remember. I called it a bluff, but the words still claw at me.

At last I dismount. My steps carry me gently into the packhouse. The guards on duty bow their heads, silent as I pass, and as usual I say nothing. I give no attention to anything but the door ahead of me.

Carefully, quietly, I stood there. I swallow, gathering courage. It is almost unbelievable how a woman can make me feel this way. I, who had been emotionless unless it was about my sisters, realize now that Zephyrine has crawled into a place in my heart no one ever has. Just no one.

I finally reach for the door to knock, but before I could, it opens and Blue appears in the doorway. I take a step back as she bows.

“My King.”