Chapter 36

Kaine

I sit through three meetings and remember nothing from any of them. My mind keeps circling back to Ember’s face yesterday, the calm way she answered when I asked about Jasper. She didn’t deny his interest. She just brushed it aside, like it didn’t matter.

But it does. It shouldn’t, but it does.

When the final meeting finally comes to a close, I excuse myself before anyone can stop me. I need air, distance, anything to quiet the way Rafe has been pacing all morning.

The corridors give way to sunlight as I step into one of the outer courtyards. I don’t have a place in mind. I just need space.

My temporary relief quickly fades when I see Jasper lounging near the garden’s edge, two noble girls draped on either side of him like ornaments. He throws his head back at something one of them says.

I move to turn around, but he spots me before I can make my escape. He says something to the girls, dismissing them with a lazy smile before strolling over. “Brother,” he says. “Out for a walk? Or looking for someone?”

I stop walking. I wasn’t looking for him, but I might as well make my thoughts known while he’s here. “You and I need to talk.”

Jasper lifts a brow. “That sounds serious.”

“I saw you with Ember.”

“I’ve been with her several times,” he says, grin widening. “Which time are we talking about?”

Rafe’s anger ignites at his words, and I can’t help the edge that creeps into my voice as I reply. “You’re crossing a line.”

Jasper’s eyes gleam. “Did I miss a boundary somewhere? I’ve only ever been friendly.”

“Don’t play dumb. You’re not interested in being friendly.”

He gives a small shrug. “She intrigues me. She’s not my usual type, but it is interesting how often you bring her up.”

My control wavers.

“She’s a guard,” I snap. “Not a game and not someone for you to play with just because you’re bored.”

His smile fades, but the smugness doesn’t. “You don’t get to be possessive, Kaine. Not when you’re already promised to someone else, or have you forgotten the little mark on Bianca’s shoulder?”

I step closer, anger flaring. “Watch it.”

“No,” he says evenly. “You watch it. If you’re not going to claim her, maybe someone else should.”

That does it. I grab him by the collar and shove him hard against the edge of the stone archway. Rafe howls, begging me to let my control slip, to do some real damage, but I hold him back.

“Ember is not yours to chase,” I say, low and harsh. “She is not a challenge. Not a prize.”

Jasper doesn’t flinch. He studies me with unsettling calm. “Now that,” he says, “was very interesting.”

I release him with a final shove. “Stay away from her.”

He straightens his jacket like I haven’t just pinned him to a wall. “You know,” he says, voice light, “the more you push, the more I am starting to see in her.”

I leave before I do something I’ll regret. Rafe still snarls, angry that I didn’t let him get his way.

Ember

By the time I reach Prince Kaine’s office, Nara is already worked up, pacing. She senses something off. Prince Kaine is already there, waiting for me beside the spread of maps and supply reports, but he doesn’t look up as I approach.

I pause in the doorway waiting for some sort of greeting, but he skips it.

“Start with the western patrols,” he says instead.

I step into the room, nodding and slide the report toward him. I do my best to keep my voice even as I speak. “There’s a blind spot in the southern routes. If we reassign a pair of guards from the-”

“We’ve already tried that,” he cuts in. “They can’t cover both shifts.”

My jaw tightens. “Then we need to reroute the southern gate crew.”

He says nothing for a moment. He nods, but his posture is tight, like every word costs him something.

Nara growls faintly. She doesn’t like the way he’s looking at me, distant and distracted, like I’m something he’d rather not have to deal with.

I force her down. It doesn’t matter. He’s still my superior and we’re here to work.

I go over the updates quickly and without inserting my personal opinions. Kaine doesn’t interrupt again, but he also doesn’t really listen. His attention drifts like he’s fighting something.

When we finish, I step back and wait. He almost says something. His mouth opens slightly, his gaze flicking to mine, but then he shakes his head and turns away.

“Dismissed,” he says.

I don’t respond as I leave. I tell myself not to care. But I do.

It’s nearly an hour later when I’m pulled aside by one of the senior guards in the corridor. He doesn’t explain where we’re going, but I keep pace anyway. For all I know, I’m being reassigned or perhaps reprimanded.

We stop in front of a small, unmarked door. He pushes it open and steps back.

“It’s yours.”

I blink. “What?”

“Your office,” he says. “You’re no longer a trainee. The promotion’s official.”

I step inside slowly.

It’s quiet. Modest. The desk is older, a little scuffed along the edges. The shelves are empty, but the door has a working lock, the chair doesn’t wobble, and the room smells like wood polish and dust.

It’s mine. I turn to thank him, but he’s already gone.

Nara is still, watchful. She doesn’t speak, but I feel the way her pride settles low in my chest. I let the silence stretch out around me, let the moment settle.

I trace the edge of the desk with my fingertips. The surface is worn smooth. I don’t sit, not yet.

A thousand memories flash before my mind. I picture Robert telling me I wasn’t cut out for this, my father warning me not to disgrace our family with my aspirations, and my own doubts that had been louder than any of their harsh words.

I’m here. I made it. I exhale slowly.

For once, I let myself feel it. The weight of the work and the sacrifices I have made to get here. I earned this despite my bad luck and the influence of the mark on my shoulder.

Just before I leave, I wonder for a moment if Prince Kaine had a hand in this. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, but I still think about it all the way back to my room.