Asher’s POV
I watched Rowan leave, his steps steady, his resolve unshaken.
Good.
Let him go chase ghosts and curses. Let him disappear into the unknown. I had no intention of stopping him.
Beside me, Ansel exhaled, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. He thought he had won. That the throne was his for the taking now.
Fool.
I tilted my head slightly, letting my gaze linger on him longer than necessary. Ansel was already savouring the moment, basking in the illusion that he was now the sole heir worth considering.
But I knew better.
I knew what he had done.
The whispers reached me long before they should have. The little games he played, the manipulation, the way he twisted people to his will. Ansel had always been ruthless, always reaching for more, but he had crossed a line this time
