"Some powers are not meant to be seen too soon, even if storms must gather before they break."
ELIAS POV
The Eastern Chamber always felt like a cage, gilded though it was, and so when I slipped out into the gardens I breathed like a man starved for air. The night had draped itself thick across the palace, the moonlight slanting silver across rows of manicured hedges and wild roses that refused to be tamed. Their scent clung to the breeze, sweet and stubborn, and I thought not for the first time that I belonged more to the stubborn roses than to any chamber or crown. I stretched, shaking off the warmth of Alaric's lips still burned against my own, and tilted my head back to the stars. For a moment, I was alone. But of course, solitude never lasted long in a kingdom humming with secrets.
"You walk like a thief," came a dry, amused voice. "Though, in your case, I suppose you're stealing moments more than jewels."
