#Chapter 29 Cold Hands

Kaine The courtyard is unusually quiet. A fine layer of frost clings to the edges of the garden stones signalling the approaching winter. I pace the outer ring slowly, trying to let the cold numb me from the outside in. It doesn’t work. I’ve come here hoping for silence, for clarity. Instead, I get Jasper. “Brother,” he calls from the edge of the fountain, tone light as always. “Out walking your ghosts?” I don’t break my stride. “You always lurk around corners, or is that just for my benefit?” “I find you fascinating,” he says, falling into step beside me. “The way you pretend you don’t have a temper now when the whole kingdom knows what you are capable of and what you’ve done. The way you hover around Ember like she’s part of your oxygen supply.” My shoulders tense. “She’s my guard.” “Is that what we’re calling it now?” I stop. Jasper smiles, satisfied. “You barked at me like a territorial mutt last week. ‘She’s mine.’ Bold words from a prince.” “I was angry.”