Drenched by relentless rainfall, I kneel before the palace gates, my body trembling against the biting wind and suffocating cold. Two days without water have left my throat parched, my voice barely a whisper, yet I cannot abandon this vigil. General Knoxx—my father—faces execution for a crime he never committed. Imprisoned and condemned, he depends on me to secure a royal pardon. I must meet the king. I must reach the crown prince. It is my only chance. Lightning fractures the darkened sky, illuminating a figure I recognize instantly. Luke. My childhood friend. My betrothed. "Luke," I call out, desperation clawing at my ravaged voice. "Please, you must help me. Save my father." His expression remains glacial, untouched by my anguish. "There is nothing you can do. Go away." How can this be the boy I once knew? The one who promised to stand by my side? His indifference cuts deeper than any blade, his silence more cruel than rejection. "Please," I whisper, clinging to our past. "As your fiancé—" "You are no longer my fiancé, Alissa," Luke says coldly, each word a shard of glass. The tears I've held back blur with the rain as I kneel alone before the gates, abandoned by the one person I trusted most. Betrayal tastes like storm water and broken promises, and revenge begins to take root in the hollow spaces where love once lived.