Chapter 177
Cassian
Descending the stairs in the morning felt heavier than usual, like the air itself carried the weight of something unsaid—something not quite right. The sun streamed in from the tall arched windows of the royal corridor, golden and warm, but it didn’t chase away the strange unease I’d woken with.
Maybe it was the dream.
Maybe it was the scent from last week that still haunted the back of my mind like a ghost I couldn't outrun.
I rolled my neck, trying to shake it off before I entered the breakfast hall.
The moment I stepped in, I spotted my brothers already seated. Dane was, as usual, halfway through a plate of roasted meats, already laughing at something obnoxious he'd said. Sylus sat more reserved, buttering bread with precise, almost mechanical movements. It was
