Book Four: Chapter 102

“You really are slowing things down, aren’t you?” The dim light barely illuminated her face, but he could make out the curve of her lips as she smirked. “Not just diving right in?”

“No,” he replied, a hint of weariness in his voice. “Things with the queen got out of hand. If I’m going to see her again, I need to be ready for anything. That means being thorough. That is, if you have time for me.” He shifted on the hallway floor, trying to make himself comfortable, though the cold wood pressed against his legs.

The lights flickered and then came back on, revealing a small, fleeting grin on Sofia’s face before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Her eyes glimmered in the half-light, suggesting amusement—or perhaps exasperation.

“I suppose,” she said with a groan, letting out a long breath that seemed to carry the weight of reluctance and patience both. “I