theirs was a merciless world . and in it , love was a difficult , austere thing . to love a son was to make him strong . to force the broken parts of him together into a whole , at any cost .
perhaps , in that , none loved more viciously than him ….
a look like a bitter clap of thunder roiled over his features . a tensing of his jaw , as if in physical effort to bite back words he knew better than to say .
“ as unfortunate as you might feel now , ” he said slowly , with great care , the words snarled ,
…
“ spare the guards the effort , ” his voice was gruff with frustration , “ one way or another , the boy 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 learn . if he has to crawl back here on his fucking knees through the mud , so be it . ”
…
those familiar footsteps were a welcomed interruption . how easily they cut through the gloom .
“ miserable fucking weather , ” he muttered , turning away from the window . “ and to think he ran off in 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 . ” he gestured towards the rain ,
…
a scowl fixed upon his brow .
he was referring , of course , to his eldest son . of late , daeron had taken to disappearing for days at a time , no doubt emptying every tavern in their vicinity to his father’s great shame .
…












































