REYA’S POV
I knew Lucien. Not the legend, but the boy. Ashriel's younger brother, just a few years older than me. We had grown up together, played together in the sprawling fields surrounding the packhouse. He was always so full of life, a mischievous grin never far from his face, always ready with a playful tease. But that was a lifetime ago, before the plague, before my parents died, before I ran away. I hadn't seen him since I .......
As Jake and Zachary continued to recount tales of Lucien's prowess, gleaned from "some of the female healers" they were apparently "popular with,"
Liana, who had been listening with an unreadable expression, suddenly spoke, her voice cutting through their enthusiastic chatter.
"Yes, Lucien was… quite a force," she said. She didn't sound excited like th
