Jade Fern Grove to be a star you must burn

His cheek burned, but it wasn’t the slap that truly ignited the fire twisting in his chest—it was her. Gjalla. Her defiance, her refusal to see sense, her utter dismissal of everything he knew to be true. It clawed at him in a way nothing else could, and he hated it. Hated her, maybe. But not enough to walk away.

He turned his head slowly, eyes meeting hers, the faint curl of his lip showcasing angry teeth. "You really don’t get it, do you?" he growled out, eyes tracing every inch of her infuriating, beautiful face.

“You’re a princess, Gjalla.” He spoke as if it were both a blessing and a curse. As if her title was something more important than she were. “Your bloodline is strong. Your legacy? Stronger. And you’re gonna throw all of that away? For what?" His teeth snap as he speaks, pronouncing each word. "Nomads?" The very word is an insult when he speaks it.

He realizes quickly it's useless. He's saying shit she doesn't care about.

He realizes she's an idiot. Let her be one. It wasn't his job to save her.

He realizes she didn't want him to save her. That pisses him off even more.

So he took a step back, like the final nail in the coffin. Chest rising and falling as he inhales furious breaths, filling the air around his face with visible smoke. “Fucking go.” he barked out.