Angelo's father was dying.
The cancer had already begun to eat him alive, from the inside out. If it weren't for him, wearing his military uniform, carrying his weapons, I wouldn't have noticed how much the disease had ate at him. He would've died, regardless.
If not by blade at dawn, it would've been the sickness that would claim him soon after. Perhaps, in a twisted way, this was mercy. A cleaner, quicker end than the one fate had planned. Still, all he asked was for was just a final moment with his son. It was the least they could grant Angelo.
I didn't know how Angelo would endure it. I hadn't seen him since that day, when he brought us home. I hadn't even thanked him properly.
Rayna arrived at the Palace late last night, to stand beside her husband. No one had said anything about it, since it was for the best. While Ravić had spent every hour preparing for the execution at dawn, Angelo planned for the small, secret funeral that would follow.
