Chapter 216 A Start

• Varek
• I sat there long after Nyxara had stormed out, her words burning into my thoughts like a brand I couldn’t shake. Coward. She had called me a coward, and worse, I knew she wasn’t entirely wrong.
• The fire flickered beside me, its warmth doing little to thaw the cold pit forming in my chest. Every part of me screamed to follow her, to tell her she was wrong, that this wasn’t about fear but control. My control—something I had spent years perfecting, honing until it became second nature. If I let that slip for even a second, everything could unravel. My rule, my kingdom, my reputation as the Alpha King.