The next morning, everyone in the Palace was so busy with the preparations for the New Year Festival, Cassandra and her Prince were woken up early by all the outside ruckus. The young concubine, still tired, rolled over to his side, her head on his shoulder.
Despite his closed eyes, she knew Kairen was awake from his fingers gently stroking her hair. The previous night, Shareen had left early after grabbing Valeria and taking her to her apartments. Cassandra trusted her to get as much information as she could out of her younger half-sister, and had left with Kairen to avoid more trouble. The tension was high between the brothers, and she didn’t want to stay in Phetra’s presence longer than necessary. That woman made her too upset, it was like being in the same room as a venomous, cunning
