Alina!! [Part-3]
"You'll need her in the future," it said. "She's too good to lose. That's why you're drawn to her."
Leon's jaw clenched, his thoughts running like ripples on still water. It was right, maybe, that was why he had insisted she stand beside him right from the beginning. Some part of him-quiet, instinctive-had recognized her worth when reason warned him to stay away.
He had seen all manner of people in his life: bloated rulers, generals starving for victory, nobles who wore smiles and knives in the shadows. Yet this woman. she was different. There was something unshakeable within her. Beneath the calm, he saw the soul of a true ruler; not a puppet to be moved at others' whims, not a name propped on a throne, but one who could command the very world, if she so willed.
And yet, why spend so much energy on someone who seemed like nothing but an over-the-hill old soldier?
