He looked down at her, unable to see her face through the loosely curled chestnut hair. Her ragged breath betrayed the emotion she’d tried so hard to hide. Acidic tears trailed down her cheeks and landed on the floor.

The two had been enemies since birth. He never thought it would come to watching her cry in front of him in his dimly lit chamber, giving up any sort of control. She had won the war, yes, but she wasn’t happy. She hated how many pointless deaths it had caused. She cried now for the lost soldiers, the orphaned children and the widowed wives.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t make me live with this weight on my shoulders. Slay me and free me.”

“Empress,” he said, laughing with derision, “I want nothing more than to force you to live with your guilt.”

She cursed him between sobs as his guards dragged her away.