Alexander POV
It was full moon, yet sleep would not come.
I was lying on my bed, looking at the dark ceiling, hardly moving. The tree shadows on the stone walls were like claws, and every movement of the wind allowed them to twine and curve.
It was those shadows that did not make me sleep.
It was her.
Not Eliana—though she haunted my thoughts, too.
It was Kaliyah.
The first.
The one who left her mark not with love, but with absence. A scar where something sacred was supposed to be.
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*FLASHBACK*
I can still recollect the events that took place at the hall of the Eastern Alpha Summit. I was palpitating and sweating. She stood in the ceremonial armour, at the head of the council chamber, a queenly, brilliant coldness.
“Kaliyah,” I said quietly, stepping closer. “Please. Just sp
