Dave
I groaned and sat up in bed when I heard a knock on the door. I felt so weary after Morgana left the study that I decided to sleep for a while, but I could still hear her last words on a loop in my mind.
My thoughts shifted to the night of our wedding. Elites and commoners flooded the palace grounds, mingling with business partners and engaging in polite chatter, but all I could think about was Ayla, whom I had rejected the week before. My father had arranged the marriage with the Faust family, and all I had to do to retain my throne was go through with the wedding.
I remembered going through the entire ceremony feeling like it was a bad dream that would end once everyone left the palace grounds. To everyone else, a union between the Nightclaws and the Fausts was a formidable marri
