The days that followed Kaelen's confession were the hardest I had faced since arriving in the North.
Not because of battles or monster waves. Not because of political intrigues or the endless demands of ruling. But because of the heavy, unrelenting weight pressing down on my chest, heavy and unrelenting, the weight of secrets I could not share and truths I could not speak.
I feel like I've loved you for lifetimes.
His words echoed in my mind constantly, in the quiet moments between duties, in the stillness of the night when I lay beside him, listening to his breathing. He had spoken a truth he did not fully understand, and I had wept for reasons he could not fathom.
Now I carried that moment with me, a stone in my heart that grew heavier with each passing day.
