Leticia Thornfield.
The queen of Floramatria. The original Florian's mother.
Her presence eclipsed everything else—the murmurs of the guests, the music still weaving through the ballroom, even the heavy tension that had moments ago coiled between Heinz and Kazaria.
It all fell away beneath the sheer gravity of her arrival.
She pulled him close, armor cold and unyielding, yet her embrace—her embrace was impossibly warm. Her gauntleted arm wrapped around him with such strength it nearly stole his breath, but there was no malice, no restraint in it.
Only the fierce hold of a mother claiming what was hers.
Florian stiffened at first, caught between instinct and disbelief. His heart pounded against his ribs, each thud loud enough that surely she could feel it through the steel.
He had no right to this moment—not truly. This wasn't his mother. And yet…
And yet something in him cracked.
