CHAPTER 98
The morning broke without warmth. Grace sat at her study desk, quill scratching idly across parchment that she wasn't reading. The thought of the elders' gathering lingered, yet another storm waiting to rise. But another matter pressed heavier on her chest, Juliet.
Juliet's demands for a child had not ceased. Every whisper, every look she gave was sharpened with the same intent. Grace knew it would not stop unless she redirected it. She would not give her what she wanted, but perhaps she could bend the weight of her desire toward something else.
The door opened without a knock. Juliet entered draped in pale silks, her expression calculated, her lips forming that practiced smile.
"You seem troubled," Juliet said lightly, stepping further inside. "And yet you still call yourself steady."
Grace leaned back, her eyes narrowing. "I am steady enough to notice you enter without permission."
Juliet smirked. "You know by now I don't wait at doors."
