Gideon's POV
I could see the war fighting behind her eyes—a violent storm of terror, hope, and old survival instincts clashing all at once. She was still holding back, still guarding the core of her secret, but hearing her give me even this fraction of her past felt like a break in the armor.
I wasn't sending her back. I couldn't. I would tear down every border wall and burn every square mile of territory before I let Lucian lay a finger on her again.
She let out a long, ragged sigh, fresh tears brimming on her eyelashes, and the heartbreak in her posture told me what was coming before the words even left her lips.
"I can't," she whispered, her voice barely carrying across the small space between us. "Please... just send the letter and let this play out."
I finally stood up, towering
