Prologue

I crawled through the jagged cave, hands shaking. I couldn't walk, let alone run. The journey back to my makeshift cavern felt long and exhausting. The arrow stuck in my left thigh made blood pour out every few minutes.

By the time I reached the cavern, I was already exhausted. I tried closing my eyes, hoping to decrease my pain. But to my dismay, it didn't. It even made the pain grow as I recalled my cousins, my brother, and even my own mom yelling at me for not being there. For not being useful. For not being responsible for my own family. Struggling to hold my tears in, I opened my eyes.

Why was I naive enough to think that stripping away my title and men — my only source of protection and power — would protect my family and loved ones?

Days passed. Then weeks. During that time, I could only mourn and pray for my family. Even though, as a general, I had felt countless battle wounds, this one felt heavier. Perhaps it was the emotion I carried? Or was it because of the betrayal of my best friends and the king? Dammit! Why did I trust them in the first place? Why couldn't I see their motives in their actions and words?

The moment I thought of them, I felt a shock of pain. They were my best friends, comrades in the war. We had eaten together, laughed together, survived together.

Why did they betray me?

I did not move for six days. My body was weak. My heart was hollow.

On the seventh night, I saw a shimmer of light. Not the cold moonlight from the cavern's entrance. Something warmer. Something golden.

I reached for it — not because I wanted to live. But because it was beautiful.

My hand fell.

My heart stopped.

But the light stayed there, motionless. Close to me yet far away. Something I could not reach.

But it reached for me.