YELENA

"Tyler is dead."

The words had been ringing in my head for a week now, ever since the guard brought the news. It was a heavy, hollow truth.

He wouldn't get to see Tyla.

He wouldn't get to see the life he helped create.

I sighed, staring down at my plate, lost in the quiet ache of it all, until a soft voice pulled me back to the present.

"Ma'am, I wanted to ask where I should put this."

I looked up to see our new housekeeper, Aria, struggling slightly with a large, heavy flower ...