"What comes after her…" Edric echoed.
What could possibly come after Aveline?
She already seemed to be getting everything she was fighting for. She had the determination, the sheer grit, and now, power enough to accomplish things no one else in the kingdom could even imagine.
His hand unconsciously went to his chest.
He could still remember the sensation of it—the invisible pressure around his lungs, the terrifying awareness that his next breath was no longer his to take. Worse still had been the moment when he had felt his blood slow beneath his skin, as though some unseen hand had reached inside his body and taken hold of his very life.
It had been terrifying.
The King turned his gaze toward the capital spread out below the hill. For a long moment, he simply stood there, watching the city.
Then he released a deep breath and lowered himself beneath a tree.
