Celeste Moonwhisper had come to the dark castle to win the heart of a king who swore never to love again. She stood at the iron gate for the fourth day straight, holding a bundle of vines heavy with bright blossoms. She had picked them at dawn, hoping the color might reach a sad man behind cold walls. But she had not spoken one word to him. She had not even seen his face. The gatekeeper blocked her path. He was an old soldier with a scar across his jaw and a voice like grinding stone. "Turn around," he said. He did not look at the flowers. He did not look at her blue eyes or her pale hair. "The king sees no one. Especially not you." "I only want a moment," Celeste said. "One sentence." "They all say one sentence." He set his hand on his sword. "Then they weep, or they beg, or they lie. He has heard enough of all three. Go home, girl." Celeste did not go home. She sat down on the cold stones outside the gate and waited. The gatekeeper watched her through the bars. Hours passed. The sky turned gray, then black. She stayed. Near midnight she heard a small cry from the ditch beside the wall. She climbed down and found a bear cub, spotted and shivering, its paw caught under a fallen stone. It snapped at her. She spoke softly and worked the stone free. The cub pressed against her chest, trembling. When she carried it back up, the gatekeeper stood at the open gate. His hard face had changed. "That cub," he said quietly. "It belongs to the king. It ran off three nights ago. He has not slept since." Celeste held out the shaking animal. "Then take it to him." The old man shook his head slowly. "He trusts no one's hands but the one who found it." He stepped aside and pointed through the gate into the dark courtyard. "You wanted one sentence. Go. But know this. The last woman who reached him left him worse than dead inside. If you break what little is left of him, I will not open this gate for you again." Celeste stepped through the iron gate at last, the cub warm in her arms and the flowers crushed against her side. The gatekeeper closed the gate behind her. The lock fell into place with a heavy sound. There was no turning back now. Ahead, a single window glowed high in the tower. Behind that light waited Aldric Thornhaven, the king who had buried his heart. She started across the courtyard toward him, and she did not yet know what she would say.