The next morning, the palace was still running as if it expected another attack at any moment.
Patrols had been doubled, the gardeners were trying to repair the disaster in the garden, and a group of druids was already working around the walls, beginning to raise the barrier Mark had ordered installed the night before.
And before he even had breakfast, Mark went to see Rose.
He found her by the window of her room, holding a cup of tea she had stopped drinking long ago as she gazed silently at the garden.
Rose composed herself the moment she saw him come in, quickly recovering her usual expression, though Mark had already caught the worry she was trying to hide.
'Do you want me to look for them?' he had asked.
She shook her head without a second thought.
Mark, however, knew the answer wasn't that simple.
He remembered perfectly the look on his wife's face when she saw Lily, and also the way she talked about Dalia, mocking her the way only someone close could.
