Several Years Ago: A Backstory.
The air in Adele Blackfen's world had always carried a certain expectation. She had been raised to believe even the wind should lower its voice in her presence.
Which was exactly why she was currently frowning at the idea of walking through mud.
"This is unacceptable," Young Adele muttered under her breath as she stepped down from the carriage, in need of a new horse.
Her skirts were already too close to the ground for her liking. The estate of Alpha Blackfen Park stretched endlessly ahead, and she needed a new horse.
A servant moved quickly to steady her descent.
Adele ignored her hand.
Before her, the conversation of nobles and soldiers blurred into background noise, as their carriage disappeared away from the stable. Her father had already moved ahead, speaking with King Elijah about something dull and political.
Adele didn't care.
She was here because she had been told to observe the estate operations.
