Kerrigan didn’t want to be in the mountain when it happened. She’d told Ben and Bay she’d be back any moment, but she couldn’t go to those rooms and be okay when nothing was okay. Yes, she had her position and a good in to get a nomination to run for council. But Fordham was gone. The refugees were a mess waiting to happen. Humans and half-Fae still had limited rights. And something told her that Lorian was not the end of the violence he had started. That this was only the beginning.

She meandered away from the center of the mountain toward the eastern grounds. She could have gotten lost in the city, but today was not the day for a half-Fae to be wandering. Already, there were counter protests for Lorian’s death. He had been beloved in the city. Instead, she headed toward the greenhouses.

She touched the door and then retreated, moving away from the interior, where she had shared a heated kiss with Fordham. She walked the grounds, and a tug came from Tieran, checking on her. They’d gone flying the last two days to help her escape her thoughts, but it hadn’t been enough.

She sent a pulse back to let him know that she was wandering today. He seemed increasingly concerned, but she couldn’t deal with it right now. She shut down her side of the bond and felt the sinking failure seep over her. Tieran thought they had won. She didn’t want to continue to bring him down when she couldn’t process her own emotions.

With a heavy sigh, she stopped in the shade of an overgrown tree along the hillside. A figure approached her along the same walk. That was unusual, considering that no one came this way. Only the naturalists ever really ventured outside of the city limits like this. She pulled her magic in taut, fear clouding her judgment.

War had changed that. She reacted now without provocation. Screamed herself awake in the night as she was caught in another nightmare of slaughtering Fae before her eyes. It had been necessary. That did not mean it didn’t haunt her.

But as the figure came into view, she released her unease in measures. “Valia,” she said in surprise. “What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you,” she said, tucking a strand of her honey hair behind her ear and looking back the way she had come. “I thought you’d be in your rooms. Your attendants sent me to the dungeons.”

Kerrigan flushed. “Yes. Did you need something?”

Valia looked around again, as if she expected someone to jump out at them.

Kerrigan pulled her magic in once more. “What is it? Were you followed?”

She gulped. “I don’t think so. But I need to speak with you.”

“About what?”