CELESTE’S POV
I woke with silk cradling my skin and sunlight warming my cheek.
For a moment, I simply lay there, breathing, taking stock of my surroundings.
The sheets were familiar—cream silk with hand-embroidered edging. The canopy above me was the same pale ivory gauze that used to catch the breeze from the east balcony.
The faint scent of jasmine drifted through the open windows, blending with polished wood and something patrician—something distinctly Lockwood.
Home.
I let out a blissful sigh.
Home was where the walls did not close in. Where no one watched me with suspicion and wariness.
Where I was the favored daughter, the cherished princess, the girl who could do no wrong.
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the canopy, letting relief and happiness pool in my chest.
Until memory began to stir at the edges of my thoughts, ugly and intrusive.
Sera.
Kieran’s arm around her, proving with actions that he’d indeed chosen her.
