Sargis POV
I told myself I wasn't going to do it.
That I'd leave her alone like she asked.
That I wouldn't look for her again.
That the guards I had stationed nearby would be enough. That the distance would protect us both.
But that was a lie. I told myself a lot of things to survive her absence.
That I was fine.
That I could live without her.
That this... this upcoming ball, the royal theater of masks and choices, was just duty.
And maybe I even believed it for a while.
But then I found myself in front of her workplace watching her.
She didn't see me. Her arms were full of cardboard trays and paper bags, her apron was slightly stained, and her eyes were dark with fatigue. She was walking out of that dingy diner where she worked with the damned vampire with her head down.
But
