Todos los capítulos de The Professor's Mate Clause : Capítulo 161 - Capítulo 168

AURORA'S POV"Walk with me," my mother says, the same words I hear Kade use with my father a moment later, though hers carry an entirely different weight.We move away from the cabin, far enough that even wolf hearing wouldn't easily catch us, and for a while she doesn't say anything at all, just walks beside me with her arm looped through mine, the way she used to when I was small enough to need steadying on uneven ground."You look tired," she says finally."I am tired.""Good tired, or bad tired?"I consider the question seriously, because with my mother, the distinction actually matters. "Both, honestly. It's a lot, managing the negotiation and the investigation and—" I stop myself, the same reflexive caution I've carried through every conversation about Kade since this whole thing started."And whatever's happening with the King," my mother finishes gently, no judgment in it at all.My whole body goes tense despite myself. "Kai told you.""Kai didn't tell me anything specific. He

AURORA'S POV"A word, Ambassador."Bram's voice cuts across the war room before the session has even officially started, and I look up from my notes to find him standing at the far end of the table, arms crossed, clearly having waited for exactly this moment to make his move."Of course," I say, keeping my tone even."Yesterday's spectacle in the training yard was entertaining," he begins, and the way he says the word makes it clear he means the opposite, "but I don't think a woman rolling around in the dirt with our King proves she's qualified to negotiate on behalf of an entire people."The room goes quiet, several nobles exchanging glances, waiting to see how this plays out. I catch Kade's jaw tighten at the head of the table, his easy posture going rigid, and before he can open his mouth to intervene, I speak first."I wasn't aware qualification for diplomatic negotiation required your personal approval, Lord Bram," I say. "Perhaps you could clarify what standard you're actually

RHYS'S POVThe archive access logs take three days to fully untangle, and what I find sits heavy and cold in my chest the entire walk back to my quarters.Draven's name appears in the eastern records hall four times over the past two months, always during hours he'd claimed to be elsewhere, always coinciding within a day or two of a border incident. It's not conclusive on its own, plenty of innocent reasons might explain a noble reviewing old financial records. But combined with the inconsistency Kade caught, combined with the shell account intelligence from Aurora's parents, the pattern's becoming difficult to explain away as coincidence.I don't go to Kade with it yet. Not until I understand exactly what Draven's been looking for in those records.That's how I end up in Lady Corwin's receiving room two evenings later, having accepted an invitation I initially assumed was purely social."You've been busy lately," she says, pouring wine with the careful precision of a woman who's spen

AURORA'S POVI find my mother in the guest quarters Kade's staff prepared, already unpacking with the brisk efficiency she's brought to every crisis I've ever watched her navigate."You're really here," I say, still not entirely believing it.She turns, and whatever composure she's maintained through the formal fortress arrival cracks the moment she sees me, pulling me into a hug fierce enough to steal my breath. "We're really here.""Miriam actually authorized it?""Miriam didn't have much choice, once she understood the scope of what's actually happening." My mother pulls back, studying my face with the particular intensity she's always reserved for moments she suspects I'm not telling her the full truth. "You look exhausted.""I am exhausted. It's been a lot.""I imagine it has." She guides me to sit on the edge of the bed, settling beside me. "Your father's with King Ashveil now, going over everything Rhys uncovered. I wanted a moment with you first, before this whole thing become