#Chapter 68: The Succession Battle

Neil The blade in my hand felt heavier than it usually did. Maybe it was just my exhaustion, or maybe it was the weight of the crown that I wasn’t wearing yet that was dragging me down. Or maybe it was the feeling of everyone’s eyes on me. The warmth of my father’s blood still coating my hands. The knowledge that Caleb had conspired to take me down, to use Serena for his own gain. Or perhaps it was just the fact that one of my closest friends was fucking dead thanks in part to a plot created by my own flesh and blood. Nothing could ever fix that. Nothing. Not even winning this battle and taking the crown could bring Eric back. Nothing would ever make me forgive the bastards who had caused this. And nothing, absolutely nothing, could make me stop missing Raven. Even though I was about to take part in the succession battle that I had been preparing for for so long, my mind and my heart were still in that hotel room with her. In the room where I had le