SAGEThe palace gates opened for me as they always did.Guards straightened at my approach. One bowed, another offered a small smile—respectful, familiar, unchanged. Their gazes lingered with the same deference they had always shown, the kind reserved for royalty and those close to power.“Lady Sage,” one murmured.“Welcome back.”Maids passing through the corridor dipped into curtsies, skirts rustling in a practiced ripple. Their expressions remained warm, ordinary, unconcerned. No tightening around the eyes. No whispering mouths. No flicker of suspicion.Relief slid through me like a slow exhale.I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been coiled until that moment—how much tension I’d carried since leaving Peter’s home, expecting every step to reveal that I’d been exposed. That the disaster at the pack had already spread. That someone here had heard.But the palace felt the same. Too calm. Too pristine. Too ignorant.My shoulders loosened a fraction as I moved forward, forcing my gait in
Last Updated : 2026-01-29 Read more