After Kaliantha insisted that their discussion take place at once, Ulrich followed her from the dining hall.
As expected, he could not leave Skargardia's capital without speaking to her properly.
But he doubted the conversation was only about what had happened the previous night.
For a long time, Ulrich's relationship with Kaliantha had been neither warm nor hostile. They had existed within the same court, acknowledged one another when required, and maintained the careful distance expected between a powerful Count and the Queen of Skargardia.
Then Ulrich had recovered his memories.
His past life as Silas.
The future he had once read about.
The knowledge that adopting the three sisters, the very girls connected to his eventual death, would not be enough to change his fate.
He needed allies.
Real ones.
People whose influence could protect Rubenhart, the sisters, and his future from forces he could not fight alone. And at the top of that list stood Kaliantha van Skargardia.
