Damon’s POV
Sleep didn’t come easily anymore, not even on a night that should have marked the beginning of everything I had worked for. Not even with the crown now resting within reach and the kingdom bending into place around me, not even with Nyra lying beside me in a bed that had once symbolized strategy and power and alliance. None of it settled the restlessness under my skin, none of it quieted the constant awareness that something was still not right, because even with everything secured, even with every piece falling into place, there was still one thing that refused to align completely. One presence that dictated the rhythm of my control whether I wanted to admit it or not, and that was her.
I lay there for a long moment staring into the darkness, listening to the slow, even brea
