(Catherine POV)
The knock came during the quiet hour after breakfast, soft and apologetic in a way that immediately set my nerves on edge. I'd been sitting by the tall windows in my chambers, sketching patterns of frost that had appeared overnight despite the relative warmth of the season—another small impossibility in a place where natural law seemed more suggestion than rule.
Louis entered with the careful deference that had marked all my interactions with the castle staff since the night of the festival, when they'd witnessed their lord's transformation and my decision to remain standing in the aftermath. His usually cheerful demeanor carried shadows now, as if he wasn't entirely certain how to treat someone who'd seen behind the supernatural veil and chosen not to flee.
"Miss Cather
