I found Kael where I'd left him. Still in our room. Staring out the window at the sunrise.
"Hey," I said from the doorway.
He turned. "Hey."
"Can we talk?"
"Always."
I came inside. Closed the door. Sat on the bed.
"I'm not good at this," I started. "The whole... talking about feelings. Leighton trained that out of me pretty thoroughly."
"Take your time."
"The mark. The seal. All of it." I looked at my hands. "I'm angry that you didn't tell me sooner. That feels like a choice you took away."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"But," I looked up at him. "I understand why you didn't. How do you tell someone 'By the way, you've been marked as my destined queen since birth'? There's no good time for that conversation."
"Still should have tried sooner."
"Yeah. You should have." I stood. Walked to
