The moment Lucian left, the Valen estate felt colder.
Rayne stood in the war room long after the others had cleared out, her hands gripping the edge of the large oak table where the territory maps lay scattered. Her knuckles were pale, her breathing uneven. The council’s voices still echoed faintly in her ears. The judgment. The whispers. The unspoken doubts.
But it wasn’t their opinions that weighed most on her—it was the look in Lucian’s eyes before he left.
The heartbreak.
The betrayal.
The jealousy.
She had never seen him like that before. Not even back at Blackmoon Academy, when they were both pretending to be someone else. Not when they were roommates. Not when they had risked everything just to protect each other. The Lucian she knew had always been in control.
But today?
He
