We slept tangled together. He had his arms gripped tightly around me most of the night. I was happy I could feel his emotions better now, because he couldn't say them. He was drowning in the overwhelming power and now the overwhelming guilt. I kept my cheek pressed to his chest. He started sweating and soon we were lying down. He wasn't doing well.
That night marked the start of his reign. No mercy. No grand gesture. He seized his crown by torturing his ex‑fiancé until she ended up brain‑dead.
He was asleep before I was. That never happens. I listened to his heart for hours, making sure he didn't fight the demons in his head alone.
I woke hours later. He was standing at the window, watching the storm tear across the tree line.
His shoulders were hunched forward, hands shoved deep in
