Ansel’s POV
I paced my room like a caged animal, my boots scraping against the marble floors with every sharp turn. The glow of the fire threw shadows along the walls, but the heat didn’t touch the ice spreading through my chest.
“I will never be yours. Not in this life. Not in any life.”
Raven’s words gnawed at me like a dull blade, not because they hurt, but because they defied me.
She didn’t matter. Not to me. Not to anyone. She was just a complication, a stubborn obstacle standing in the way of what was mine.
The crown. The throne. The power.
I dragged a hand through my hair, breathing heavily as my pulse thundered in my ears.
Everything I’d trained for, everything I’d bled for, hinged on that pathetic girl’s choice. The council’s decree echoed in my mind like a curse.
The firs
