Cyrus 's POV

I haven't slept. Can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see Mira's face when Kael told her the truth. The moment everything I built was shattered. The guards outside my door are a courtesy, Kael said. But we both know what they really are.

Dawn breaks through the window. I watch the light spread across Blackridge and wonder if this is the last sunrise I'll see as a free man. The door opens. Mira stands there, and I've never seen her look like this. Not angry. Not devastated. ...