MATERD TO THE SON OF THE DEMON KING
That got the smallest ghost of a smile out of him, gone almost as soon as it appeared, like it had surprised even him.
"My father erased a person," he said again, like he needed to keep saying it to make it real. "What kind of man does that to his own son?"
"The kind who's scared of losing everything he built."
"That's not an excuse."
"I didn't say it was."
He finally reached for my hand, turning it over, looking at the faint silver line still cut across my palm from the crown. It hadn't healed the way a normal wound would. It just sat there, thin and pale, like something the crown wanted me to remember every time I looked down.