Chapter 200
Annalise
The next day, Cassian came to find me in the gardens, a bouquet of moon lilies in his hands. “They just bloomed,” he said with a gentle smile. “I thought we could walk through the courtyard—alone.” I wanted to say yes. But I’d only taken his hand for a heartbeat when a maid came running.
“He’s crying, my Queen. Loud enough to wake the ancestors.”
Cassian didn't say anything when I pulled away. But the way he crushed the stems of the lilies when he thought I wasn’t looking told me enough.
Dane tried to pretend it didn’t bother him. He came into my chambers one evening, carrying two cups of herbal tea and a tired smile.
“I don’t need anything,” I told him, my voice breaking as I rocked Dimitri. “I just need sleep. And quiet.”
But Dane didn’t bring tea again.
And
