Chapter 144

• Kiara's POV
• The drive back to the palace felt like a blur. My mind was racing, spinning with too many emotions for me to make sense of anything. Eric had passed away just minutes after our conversation, right there in my arms.
• His body, so weak and frail, had faded away like a flame snuffed out by the wind. He had asked for my forgiveness, and though I had given it, the weight of everything he'd confessed still sat heavy on my chest.