KIERAN'S POV
My instincts have never failed me. They've carried me through bloodied fields, ambushes, even the feeling of betrayal from those I once trusted. My instincts get better due to years of leading, fighting, surviving. And yet tonight, they turn in my gut.
I feel uneasy. Something is wrong. More wrong than I've felt in years.
I think back to Ronan earlier in the day. Ronan has been working in this palace for years. He's the kind of person nobody ever notices. But not me. I notice everything.
While training, I noticed how he scanned the grounds. I remembered the way he stammered through excuses when a guard asked him something as simple as why he was near the east wing. The cryptic glances, the vanishing acts with no explanation. I told myself I was imagining it, but the unease never left.
Now, it's late and I can't ignore it any longer.
