Ortalan huffed, leaned back against the boulder Feldar sat on. “Not love. I’ve always felt as if my life was not entirely mine, that my time in the world was always anecdotal. I have always owed myself to other things. Ruling a land, commanding an army, fighting the enemy. I never felt permanent enough, steady enough that I could give my heart to anyone, even if I had found someone. But make no mistake, Feldar. I know what it is to love. I’ve seen it enough times, its consequences.”
