Lucien did not take a carriage when he left the palace. Instead, he rode a black stallion, its hooves pounding against the earth with a steady, relentless rhythm that matched the storm in his chest.
He had been dismissed from the crown prince's service... no, he had dismissed himself... and the chains bound to Caspian were finally broken. The wind whipped through his dark hair as he rode, the open road stretching before him, but freedom felt hollow. Each thud of hooves brought him closer to his true cage: the Vortellion estate, his father's bloody domain.
