I throw my feelings at him, letting my grandfather see, feel, and smell my fury, taste the defiance I embrace. Yes, my king. My words mean nothing, platitudes.

"Our thanks to you," Oleksander says to Caine while I gag on his change of heart. "I had no idea."

Caine bows his head to my grandfather. "You are so quick to judge," he says, looking straight at me, "but we, too, care for the honor and glory of our werenation. We may have ...