Chapter 52

Duncan's arrival was scheduled for midday, but Arianna woke before dawn, too nervous to sleep. She'd planned every detail of the visit—the official meetings, the formal dinners, the diplomatic protocols that would satisfy the observers from both territories.

But what she really wanted was just to see him. To hold him. To be together in the same physical space instead of connected only through the bond.

"You're pacing," Elena observed from the doorway. "Your leg is healed, but that doesn't mean you should test it by walking circles in your room for hours."

"I'm not pacing. I'm... moving purposefully."

"You're pacing." Elena entered with a tray of breakfast....