Kylian’s POV
I returned to the palace just as the sun was setting.
My body was exhausted from a full day of training and border checks, but my mind was still restless. No matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The image of Rachel helping that pup in the garden kept flashing in my head. The way she had knelt down without hesitation, even knowing she would be rejected.
I walked through the main hall, trying to shake the thoughts away. She is the enemy, I reminded myself again. Silverton blood. Nothing more.
As I passed the large windows overlooking the inner courtyard, I stopped.
There she was.
Rachel was sitting on a stone bench near the small fountain. She had a book in her lap — one of the ones Elena must have given her. But she wasn’t reading. A young
