The next morning, true to his word, Kaelen climbs into the carriage beside me.
I blink at him in mock surprise. "You weren't lying."
He raises an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Joining me today. I thought you might ride off dramatically again. Something about duty. Or strategy. Or secret whispers with Harlin."
He smirks. "I left Harlin to whisper to himself. He'll survive."
I narrow my eyes, but I can't suppress the small grin tugging at my mouth. "Well then, Lord Commander. Welcome to my very thrilling domain of creaky wheels and awkward silence."
"Sounds more pleasant than most war councils." He leans back, one arm casually slung over the side, boots crossed at the ankle. "Though I heard your maid is quite the conversationalist."
"Riveting company," I mutter, shifting closer to the window. "Truly, I don't know how I survive it."
Kaelen chuckles and stretches, the leather of his coat creaking slightly. "Well, you have me today. I come with marginal charm and a small pouch of chocolate nibs."
He tosses the pouch onto my lap.
I peer inside. "You're trying to bribe me?"
"Seeing as you skipped dinner and weren't that excited once you saw the wild mushroom with herb tartlet for breakfast, I thought a snack was warranted."
My stomach growls at the memory. I look away. "You kissed dinner out of me."
That earns a choked laugh from Kaelen. "You're impossible."
"Yet you still like me."
He doesn't deny it.
---
By late afternoon, the gates to the vast estate opens and the sight before takes my breath away.
The ocean.
A vast, glittering stretch of ocean lies ahead, waves rolling against pale sand. The wind carries the scent of salt and something wild, untamed. I lean forward, heart lurching.
"The sea," I breathe. "I've never seen it before."
Kaelen watches me, not the view. "I thought you hadn't."
I shove the door open before the carriage even stops and leap down, stumbling slightly on the uneven path. Kaelen follows close behind, giving a low command to the guards to hold position.
The sand crunches beneath my boots—cold and damp. I pull them off, ignoring Malexis's scandalized noise, and step barefoot into the chill.
It's icy.
It's perfect.
The waves rush forward, kiss the shore, then retreat with a whisper. Again and again. Relentless, eternal.
"I didn't expect this," I murmur, wrapping my arms around myself. "It's like the world just ends here. And keeps breathing anyway."
Kaelen comes up beside me and presses something into my hand—a small, pinkish, pointy shell. "Put it to your ear."
I raise it slowly. The hollow curl hums softly, a whisper of waves captured forever.
"It sounds alive," I whisper.
"It is," he says. "In a way."
We stand like that for a while, the breeze tugging at my skirts, the water crashing and retreating. For once, there's no need to fill the silence.
Eventually, I spot a tall white structure in the distance—sleek and perched directly on the cliff's edge. "Are we staying there?"
Kaelen hesitates. "No. Security isn't ideal. Too many angles. Too exposed. We'll be inland—still on the estate, just farther back."
Disappointment coils in my chest. "Oh."
He watches me carefully. "But if it matters to you, I'll bring you here every day. Even if I have to carry you."
I look up at him. "You say that like it's a punishment."
Kaelen smiles. "Then punishment so be it."
---
The villa isn't nearly as dramatic as the oceanfront manor, but it's warm and quiet, with high ceilings and polished wood floors that creak faintly beneath our steps. Malexis disappears with the servants to unpack. Kaelen leaves briefly to speak with the estate steward, then returns, coat damp from sea mist.
"Feel like stretching your legs?" he asks. "There's a market hub just outside the grain depot."
I nod. "I'll go but keep the chocolate nib pouch behind ."
---
The market is bustling.
Not noisy, not unruly—just full. Merchants hawk dried herbs, blankets, wool, leather satchels. Kaelen makes his rounds with a handful of men, inspecting ledgers and asking sharp, short questions about yield and trade routes.
I trail behind, eyes drawn to a small booth draped in velvet and brass chains.
Jewelry.
Not the kind worn at court. These are handmade pieces—woven with tiny shells, sea-glass, copper wire. I run my fingers across a ring shaped like a curled wave.
"Pretty," I murmur.
A strange prickle crawls up my spine.
I straighten, heartbeat suddenly quickened. Someone's watching me.
I turn.
No one. Just the usual crowd—farmers, dockworkers, a few well-dressed traders haggling over imported spices.
Still... the feeling lingers.
I step closer to the table, forcing a smile at the vendor. She nods politely. My gaze flicks over the crowd again.
No threat. No one familiar. And yet...
Kaelen appears at my side without a sound. The moment I see him, the tension in my neck melts.
"Find something?" he asks, resting a hand lightly at the small of my back.
I nod toward the wave ring. "It reminds me of the ocean."
He picks it up and turns it over in his fingers, then gestures to the vendor. "How much?"
"I wasn't asking for—"
"It's a gift," he says simply. "a reminder of our time here."
I press my lips together, but I don't stop him.
As the vendor wraps it carefully in cloth, I glance one last time over my shoulder.
That eerie sensation is gone.
But something still lingers.
A warning, maybe.
Or a whisper I haven't yet heard