Lucien
I had meant to reject Sakina sooner but the opportunity never seemed to present itself. Now more than ever, I knew she deserved more than a disgraced mate, one who had challenged his own brother to the throne. We had gone for rides outside the city gates alone, galloping our horses in comfortable silence. With the number of patrols, we were never in any immediate danger. Each time I had tried to utter the words to her, my throat had closed up and I had been unable to say them.
I had spent the days apologising individually to almost everyone I knew. Atari, my siblings, King Leonidas, all of my mothers. Even Orsa and Leela. Drained after each apology, I would seek her out and she would ask me to accompany her on a walk, or a ride, distracting me from the shame I felt at all I had d
