The Villainess's Weakness
I am the most feared woman in the empire—ruthless, untouchable, the shadow that devours kings. Yet now, my pulse hammers not from power, but from *him*. The boy who stammers when he speaks, who flinches at raised voices, who still steps between me and danger with nothing but a cracked staff and a heart too kind for this world. I don’t know when it started, only that every time he looks at me with those wide, honest eyes, I feel less like a conqueror—and more like someone worth saving.