If I ever left you waiting, would you know it was not my will? I’m standing here in the rain, waiting for only you. Can you feel my heart reaching out to yours? The rain clung to his robes, soaking into embroidered silk that once only saw sunlight and ceremony. The crown prince stood unmoving, his dark hair plastered against his forehead, droplets tracing lines down a face carved by too much restraint. The palace gates loomed before him, the lanterns along the stone path flickering in the mist. He had dismissed the guards, the attendants, everyone. Tonight, he needed no witnesses. Tonight, he was not heir to an empire—only a man waiting for the sound of footsteps that had always returned to him before. He tilted his face ever so slightly toward the rain, as though it might wash away the ache lodged deep within his chest. Each beat of his heart whispered her name. Each passing second stretched into eternity, binding him tighter to the hope that she would appear, smiling as she always...