“That’s not for you to decide.” Garll leaned back in her chair and motioned to the only other seat in the room across from her. “Sit and tell me.”
“I do not think—”
“It’s an order, Hants.” She tried to make the words as gentle as possible, but no amount of tenderness could remove the hurt in his eyes. She’d crossed a line commanding him, a line she might not be able to erase.
He fell heavily into the chair, starting his tale with hasty resentment. “I was born into a noble family in the West. We weren’t important, not like the Le’Dans or Ci’Dans, but my family had pride and a few generations of nobility. I was the eldest and the only son, my sisters just a few years younger.”
“So you were set to inherit the estate.” Garll shifted in her chair and leaned forward, placing her elbows on th
