ella

Queen. It is a sign of ultimate reverence, an acknowledgment that she is th

on our wedding day, a symbol of his undying loyalty. A

part of him that chafed under the weight of tra

elow, I watched him

one path, not for me, b

ke it was being slowly, methodically torn in two, the pai

urned away from the balcony,

threatened to escape. I w

e away the cold ache in my chest. I went to the stables

ith a spirit as wild as my own. He was a challenge, a forc

tacles. I pushed him hard, faster and faster, the wind whipping a

We were perfectly in sync, a single entity of muscle and

somethin

. It had been cut, a clean, deliber

its strings cut. I hit the ground hard, a blinding fl

ped wildly around the track, his pow

stance. He was still with her, his back to me

tore from my throat, a sou

ly got his

Diablo charging erratically. In a blur of motion, he was there, a calming hand on th

arkness took me was the stark whi

ere a blur of pain, surge

as there fo

ad to me in the long, quiet hours of the night.

ared him. Maybe he realized what he stood to lose. Maybe he would apol

s no warmth

. I could see the difference between the fervent devotion he gave Angelia and the perfunctory duty he was pe

of hushed voices outside my roo

w and tense. "A warning was one thing. This... thi

od ran

h whisper. "The reins were just supposed to snap, throw her off balance.

. The air in my lu

ncé," Marco continued, his voice laced with res

. The walls seemed to wa

't an a

a pun

a cover-up. He hadn't rushed to my side

nside me died, its ashes t

compared to the agony that ripped through my soul.