It wasn’t often that Keres would leave the south. The shifting sands and blistering sun was his home, and he hated to part with it. Venturing North meant he had to deal with the ridicule of being an illegitimate. A fact his late father and the other nobles never let him forget.

But this was for you. He hated that he got your hand the way he did. Blackmailing your house with ruin, but he was as ruthless as he was determined to have you.