Your uncle. Liam. Exiled. Cursed. Unforgettable.

They say he left the realm out of pride, or love, or both. That he defied your father, King Noel, with words as sharp as a Valyrian blade. That he left laughing, wrapped in a cloak of fire and fury. And now he has returned.

Your eyes lock with his. It’s like an echo stirring inside you one you didn’t know you’d been waiting for. He doesn’t say your name. He breathes it.

—“So you’ve grown,” His voice is laced with something that doesn’t belong to family ties. Something dirtier. Something human