Chapter 60

LEAH

The days start blurring together, and I spend most of them with Queen Reyna now. And it's not because things with Lucian are terrible, not exactly, but because it’s easier this way. It's easier to stay busy, easier to avoid the way his eyes have been holding something back lately. There’s a wall between us. It's thin enough to see through, but it's also thick enough to stop me from touching him.

Queen Reyna and I are also still awkward, there’s no pretending otherwise. We’re not the kind of mother and daughter who fall into each other’s arms after years apart. We circle around each other instead. She gives me pieces of herself, little bits of her past, like broken glass she’s afraid I’ll cut myself on. I offer pieces back, though mine are smaller, and safer. We’re both learning about each other one conversation at a time.

But at least she’s here, and she’s patient. That’s something. Today, we’re in one of the training courts behind her office. It’s quiet except for the low whist