Lumina watched Ashen's face crumple the moment Ero's words landed. The color drained from him, leaving his eyes hollow, his shoulders sagging under an invisible weight.
He stared at the floor as though the stone tiles could explain why the woman he had called mother his entire life had slipped away without a single word, without even a glance back at the son she claimed to love.
"No… this can't be," he whispered, voice cracking on the last word. "She freaking left without even caring about the son she never called hers… without making any explanation to me."
Lumina had never seen him look so small. The dragon prince, the man who commanded fire and fear, stood broken in the middle of his own office. She rushed forward and grabbed his arms, fingers curling tight around his sleeves.
"Hey… why are you feeling mad?" she asked, anger edging her tone because she hated seeing him like this, hated that the queen still had this much power over him even in death.
