Fifteen.

DAMIAN.

Endlessly recounting her, "Nobody loves you!" With tears in her eyes and a shaky voice wasn't exactly the best way to spend my day.

I'd ask the workers to clean up the mess that Ishtar created, but it stuck with me like a bad dream. How did she know it was my birthday, and why did she think bringing me a cake was a wise thing to do?

It was beginning to seem as though I'd been too nice to her, hence my reaction. It was born from a place of calculation and logic. Seeing as my mind was still suffering from lack of answers, it'd do anything to block out any more confusing situations, like the one she had created with Reiss.

I wondered why Reiss was in on it. He was very different from his ancestors. I'd received a call from Alfred this morning to congratulate me on this bland day, too. I hadn't taken the time to thoroughly discuss how Reiss was going to become his successor.

The last time we spoke of it, Alfred feared Reiss wasn't ready or mature enough to handle such truth. The