AYASHA'S POV
The carriage wheels clattered against the cobblestones like bones thrown by a fortune teller, each turn bringing me closer to another rejection. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass window and watched the countryside roll past. The first house I'd chosen was the Korvans, a minor noble family with lands near the eastern border. They weren't powerful enough to threaten Nahuel directly, but they had enough influence to matter.
That was my mistake. Thinking influence without power would be safer.
The Korvan estate sat on a hill like a crown jewel, all white stone and climbing roses. Pretty enough to make you forget that politics lived in pretty places too. The steward who met me at the door was polite but distant, the kind of distant that meant he already knew why I was there.
"Lady Ayasha," he said with a bow that was technically correct but felt mocking. "Our Lord will see you in the garden."
