Callie learned quickly that the palace spoke most clearly when it believed no one was watching.

Secrets didn't announce themselves. They lived in pauses between footsteps, in glances exchanged too quickly to be innocent, in doors that were never locked but no one entered. Here, knowledge wasn't discovered; it was absorbed, slowly, through proximity and patience.

And Callie had both.

She performed her morning tasks with meticulous precision, practicing each movement, controlling each breath.