Chapter 57: Urgency in the Blood
The heavy doors of the throne room burst open with a thunderous bang.
Valerie strode in like a storm with a purpose. Her hair was still wild, tangled from the whirlwind of magic that had nearly torn her chamber apart. Her white nightgown, once delicate and pure, was now streaked with soot and clinging wisps of leftover spellwork. Her silver eyes—sharp, lucid, unforgiving—immediately locked onto the two men standing mid-argument, frozen in place.
Ben spun around first. "Hey—" The word stumbled from his lips like an echo of a thousand thoughts colliding at once. Disbelief. Relief. And something else—an ache he couldn't explain.
He had never seen Valerie before.
Not really in person.
He had heard stories. Rumors. Murmurs about the king's sister. But nothing had prepared him for the quiet power she carried as she walked into the room like it belonged to her soul.
