Chapter 79

Zarek's POV

"Mother…" My voice was low, rough. "I won't be like him. I won't descend into madness. And as you wished, I will never love anyone."

Love destroyed her. Love turned my father into a monster.

This estate, the Vane Citadel, had once been her cage. My father locked her here, shackled her spirit until it withered away. She died clawing at the bars, begging to escape. And still, she