Veronica POV
The day had felt impossibly long.
Veronica sat in her office, the soft creak of the leather chair the only sound in the room as she leaned back, eyes fluttering closed for a moment.
The echo of Cassian’s voice still sounded in her mind, his smug smile even as the guards dragged him away. She’d allowed him a moment to collect personal items under watch, and had ordered the guards to force him to reject his mate before being escorted to the border.
That had been the deal Veronica had made with her. She’d smiled when the rejection had ripped through her, while Cassian had collapsed to his knees, only held up by two warriors.
The day had been satisfactory, but draining—more than she expected. Even though she’d stood tall and unshaken in front of the prisoners, now that she
