VALERIA

For this journey, two carriages were prepared—Quinn and Celine rode in one, while Aldric and I shared the other.

Truthfully, things had been tense between us these past days. I suppose that’s inevitable when there are so many differences and secrets in a relationship.

I had thought of countless ways to resolve it, but all of them led back to the same conclusion: I needed to tell him the truth, to be honest with him.

Yet every time his hate-filled words echoed in my mind, my confidence c