The next few days were a blur of rolling landscapes and endless skies. The silence in the carriage had settled into a strange, fragile equilibrium. Adrien was a quiet, steady presence at her side, his hand often resting near hers, a silent offering of comfort she found herself increasingly leaning on. He would point out landmarks, tell her stories of the regions they passed through, his voice a gentle balm against the lingering fear.
Kieran remained a stoic, silent shadow across from them. He rarely spoke, and when he did, his words were clipped and functional. But Emily noticed things. The way he would subtly shift his position to block a particularly jarring bump in the road from jostling her. The way his gaze would sweep their surroundings whenever they stopped, a constant, vigilant watch. He was still the arrogant knight who had broken her heart, but he was also... something else. A complication she wasn't ready to unravel.
