There is no pain deeper than the one you caused yourself.
Since the attack on Kaelon, I hadn't stepped into the command hall, nor sat on the throne I never felt worthy of occupying. I spent my days between the room and the tall corridors of the castle, where the sound of the city barely reached. I avoided people, the advisors, the stares. I knew what everyone was thinking, and as much as I tried to deny it, the truth was... part of me thought the same.
Something inside me was breaking, and I no longer knew how to hide it.
The visit to Kaelon's room, days ago, lightened the weight a bit. But not enough. Guilt doesn't vanish with words. It drags behind me like a shadow darker than the others.
Varian tried to keep the bridges standing. Spoke to the council, to the people, to the allied clans. Her presence was still respected, her voice, heard. I watched her from afar, trying to understand how she could still believe there was something in me worth holding on to.
