Cassian Point of View
Imprisoned.
Not by iron.
Not by chain.
But by magic.
A cage wrought of darkness itself, binding me beneath the very kingdom that should have been mine to command.
The audacity of that wretched wizard.
That sanctimonious beast cloaked in calm.
How had he uncovered it?
How had he seen what I had taken such care to conceal?
My jaw tightened as I paced the confines of my prison, the unseen walls pressing against me like a silent mockery of my own ambition.
This—
This was not how it was meant to unfold.
After the fruitless search for Celeste, after hours spent scouring the island like a servant rather than a prince, I had reached my limit.
My brother’s obsession had grown intolerable.
Pathetic.
To see a King reduced to desperation over a single woman—his fa
