I sent the generals away before I could change my mind. Their presence grated on me this morning, their expectant stares like needles against my skin. I had no interest in their reports or strategies—none of it mattered. Not today.
Lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling, willing my mind to stop racing. But it didn't. It never did. My hair fell in disarray across my face, and I made no effort to push it away. The weight of it all—the kingdom, the council, her—it pressed down on me like a suffocating fog.
The kiss haunted me.
I closed my eyes, but the image came rushing back. Kiara… kissing him. My disgusting excuse of a brother. The sight was burned into my memory, a wound that refused to heal.
