Chapter 85

• Cesmae's POV
• The sky is deep blue, transitioning to dusk as Kylian and I walk back to the palace. The cool air brushes against my skin, but it does little to soothe the restlessness inside me. My eyes keep drifting to the diamond ring on my finger, the way it glimmers faintly in the waning light. I should feel something when I look at it. Comfort. Reassurance. Joy, even. But instead, there’s only this hollow emptiness gnawing at me from the inside, like I’m staring at a symbol I don’t fully understand.
• It’s strange because I love him. I’m sure of that. Kylian’s everything I should want—loyal, strong, passionate—but as the minutes stretch on, that certainty feels tangled with something else, something I can’t quite grasp. My heart feels heavy, yet it beats for him. How is it possible to feel so full and so vacant all at once?