Final Apology

Another sharp scoff echoed through the queen's drawing room, its sinister timbre sending a faint shiver down Kai's spine. 

Althea's laughter was always unsettling, teetering between genuine amusement and derisive mockery. It was almost impossible to discern her true emotions.

"I admire your persistence, my dear boy," she said, her voice calm and measured once more. "It is far more satisfying to toy with humans when they understand their suffering completely, when they can fully grasp the pain and despair you inflict on them."

But that was not true, not for the crown prince.

Perhaps it had been in the past, back when Kai first laid eyes on Lorelai and saw her as a delicate white flower he wanted to crush beneath his dirty heel. Back then, the idea of breaking her spirit had thrilled him. Yet, as the years went by, that initial desire to dominate her had faded, replaced by something far more complicated.