After I rejected him completely, Caspian locked himself away in the old estate overgrown with lunar moss.
For three full days, he refused to come out, refused to eat or drink.
He replayed every past mistake over and over, torturing himself, harming himself in penance, letting regret gnaw at his body and mind until his strength gave out and he collapsed into feverish unconsciousness on the cool stone steps.
Caspian's assistant flew across borders overnight and came to me with an anxious, desperate plea.
"Ms. Vance, Mr. Sterling's fever won't break and he won't wake up. He's in terrible condition. Please, I'm begging you, just go back and see him once. Please."
In the end, I couldn't harden my heart completely against the memory of how he had protected me in my darkest hour when we were
