#Chapter 35 Missteps

Kaine I wake before dawn, unsettled. The palace is quiet at this hour, but Rafe isn’t. He’s pacing beneath the surface, that low thrumming restlessness bleeding into me whether I want it or not. I roll my shoulders, trying to shake him off, but it doesn’t work. I already know why he’s irritated. Why I am. Ember. Or more specifically, Ember and Jasper. The conversation from last night loops back through my mind. The way she deflected. The way she tried to brush it off like it meant nothing. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe I’m making too much of it. But something about the way she looked at me when I asked stuck. Rafe hadn’t liked the question. He hadn’t liked the answer either. I’m supposed to be above this. Focused. Controlled. She’s my guard, not a distraction. But it isn’t just about her. It’s about the way it looks. The only female guard in the palace being courted, or whatever it is Jasper’s doing, by the Queen’s son? If anyone starts to suspect more, it becomes a scandal. A