Leon knew one thing for certain:
He didn't want the throne anymore.
Maybe once, a long time ago, he thought being king was the most important thing. Maybe he believed he deserved it, simply because he was the only son and everyone kept telling him how special he was. But those days felt like they belonged to a different person.
When Riven looked at him with that mix of pity and disappointment, something inside Leon had cracked. Riven had shown him things he never bothered to see before.
The towns that looked beautiful from the palace balcony were full of children with no shoes. The farmers worked from dawn until the stars came out, while he sat in meetings and signed papers without even thinking about them.
He felt like a fraud.
He was a fraud.
And he didn't want to be anymore.
Leon looked out the window again, something he had been doing too often.
