Helio’s POV
“I love you.”
Wanting nothing more than to be home and busy to keep my mind off my loss of Aspen, I told the carriage drivers to push through the night. As such, I slept fitfully in the rocking carriage, replaying over and over again our final goodbye.
In my dreams, I reached out to Aspen, but she was beyond my grasp. She stood with her family at the cheerful Winter Harvest castle, and when I called to her, she shook her head.
Helio Azer, she said in my final dream, I reject you.
I woke suddenly, feeling a burning in my forehead. I swore it was in the shape of an R. I dug quickly through the small case I’d brought in the carriage with me and took out a hand mirror.
To my infinite relief, my forehead was blank. Though it still stung.
“Your Majesty.” A footman cleared his
