The sun rose on a cold world two mornings later. Colton woke from a stiff sleep, the brightness outside holding no cheer for him. In a few hours he would be standing on his own gallows, a cheerless place, certainly, but he felt little sorrow with regard to his impending death. It was only his immense failure that he could feel regret for now—his failure to overthrow Alastor, to prevent Tyran’s capture, to keep Fianna safe or give her any of the things he had promised her.
"Colton’s expression held no mask to hide his emotion now."
This seemed unnecessarily difficult. I had to read it a couple of times to get the meaning. Why not, "Colton suddenly dropped his stoic mask" or "excited delight suddenly appeared on Colton's face", perhaps swiftly followed by horror as he realises that rather than rescuing him, Tyran is minutes away from a violent death.
>>the cold reality of his death sinking in and scarcely affecting him,
This seems a bit contradictory :) The use of the word 'cold' is indicative of an effect of something, as is 'sinking in'.
"Colton’s expression held no mask to hide his emotion now."
This seemed unnecessarily difficult. I had to read it a couple of times to get the meaning. Why not, "Colton suddenly dropped his stoic mask" or "excited delight suddenly appeared on Colton's face", perhaps swiftly followed by horror as he realises that rather than rescuing him, Tyran is minutes away from a violent death.