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7. Duty and Desire

Penulis: Martius Rayne
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-10-01 07:44:59

It's the second day of the Conclave, clouds gathered over Veilridge, covering the walls in slippery rain. In the east gallery, delegates bent over trade maps, their low voices echoing off the stone pillars.

Leo paid them no mind. His attention snagged elsewhere - on the figure slipping silently from the practice chamber across the hall.

Cris Orven.

Their gazes met, brief as lightning yet hot enough to scorch. For the first time since the feast, they stood within reach of each other without the buffer of ceremony or council.

Leo hesitated, hand tightening on the railing. He shouldn’t. Duty chained him tighter than any oath. But his feet carried him anyway.

Cris lingered at the window overlooking the drenched courtyard, hair damp with sweat from sparring. Lori had just left him with a sarcastic jab about “moon-eyed princes.” He was still grinning when the sound of boots stopped behind him.

“Prince Orven,” came a voice low and steady.

Cris turned and his chest tightened. Leo stood there
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  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    22. Ashes Beneath The Crown

    “Planning to jump, or just thinking about how far you’ve already fallen?”Cris didn’t flinch. “I thought I warned you to stay away from if you still cherish the air in your lungs.”Owen’s lips twitched into something almost like a smile. “Oh, you did. I just can't help it you see.”The air between them felt thick, unsteady. Somewhere outside, thunder rolled over the distant peaks.Cris straightened, his hand drifting subtly toward the dagger hidden beneath the table. “If you’re here to blackmail me again, leave now while you still breathe.”“Blackmail?” Owen stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. “No, Cris. I’m here because you’ve become… interesting again.”“Interesting.” Cris’s tone was flat. “That’s one word for it.”“I prefer dangerous,” Owen said. “And I have proof now that your danger bleeds across borders.”Cris’s pulse spiked. “What are you talking about?”Owen reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. The Thornvale wax seal gle

  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    21. What Shadows Know

    Leo stood alone on the balcony, the Queen’s words still rang in his ears - clipped, final, unbending. Every inch of him burned with frustration, but beneath it all, a quieter ache pulsed.Cris.He could still feel the warmth of his lips, the phantom echo of that first kiss in the rain. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw fire, the flicker of past lives bleeding into the present — Marcus and Mia, the pyre, the promise.Was fate repeating itself, or trying to right what it once broke?He gripped the railing, knuckles white. For the first time in his life, Leo wished he weren’t born a prince. Royal duty had always been heavy, but now it felt suffocating. To be forced into a marriage with Anna, a woman more crown than heart, while the only person who made him feel alive stood across the borderlines of politics and prophecy. It was madness.And yet, he would chase that madness again if it meant feeling whole.Cris sat opposite Lori, shoulders slumped, the weight of truth between them. Th

  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    20. What The Heart Betrays

    A voice cut through the dim passage - startled, disbelieving.“Cris?”He turned sharply.Lori stood by one of the stone pillars, half-hidden by its shadow, eyes wide and fixed on him. Her expression was a storm of confusion and fear.“What in the gods’ name are you doing strangling Thornvale’s most precious human?!”For a long moment, Cris said nothing. The tension between them was thick, vibrating in the air. His fangs slowly retracted, his eyes dimming back to their usual silver-gray.“Lori…” he began, voice low, strained. He glanced once at Owen, who was still clutching his throat, then back at her. “I haven’t been totally honest with you these past few days.”Her brows furrowed. “You think?”He moved closer, taking her by the hand - not roughly, but with a quiet urgency. “Come with me. To my room. I’ll tell you everything.”Lori hesitated, her gaze flicking to Owen again, then to Cris’s hand on hers. Whatever she saw in his face - the exhaustion, the anger, the unspoken plea - was

  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    19. Venom and Velvet

    Leo paused at his chamber door.Something felt… off.A subtle shift in the air - the faintest heartbeat that wasn’t his.He turned the handle slowly.The door creaked open, and moonlight spilled into the room.Anna was sitting on his bed.She didn’t move when he entered, didn’t even blink. Her gown - ivory and gold - shimmered faintly in the dim light, but her eyes… they burned.She smiled, the kind of smile that had teeth in it. “Hello, husband-to-be,” she said softly. “Where the hell have you been?”Leo’s mouth parted, but words faltered before they could form.Anna rose from the bed with deliberate grace. “Don’t even think about lying,” she said, circling him slowly. “You smell like blood.”Her gaze sharpened, nostrils flaring slightly. “And something else. Something I almost recognize.”Leo hesitated. “I went for a hunt.”“Alone?” she asked, her tone dripping disbelief. “You never hunt alone.”He met her eyes evenly. “Needed to clear my head.”Anna’s laugh cracked - short, humorle

  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    18. Fire Remembers

    The door creaked open under Anna’s hand.“Leo?” she called softly, stepping into the dim room.The curtains swayed in the draft, moonlight spilling across the bed. Empty.She tried again, a little louder. “Leo, are you here?”No answer.Her gaze drifted toward the balcony. The doors were half-open, the wind stirring the drapes like restless spirits. She walked there, her reflection flashing faintly in the glass.“Leo?”Still nothing. Only the sound of the wind and the distant call of the watch bell.Frowning, she turned to the bathing chamber. Steam hung faintly in the air, as though someone had used it recently. Her pulse quickened. She knocked once on the marble frame. “If you’re trying to avoid me, it’s a poor plan.”Silence.The truth settled cold and heavy in her chest. He wasn’t there.Anna stood perfectly still in the quiet room, trying to make sense of the ache pressing behind her ribs. He was gone. Not just from the room - but from her.For the first time in a long while, fea

  • Across Lifetimes, Still Yours    17. The Hunt

    Cris blinked, half-smiling. “A hunt?”Leo’s grin deepened, the moonlight cutting sharp lines across his face. “You’ll see.”“Tell me what kind.”“That would ruin the fun.”Cris folded his arms. “You’re impossible.”“Only when I’m right.” Leo mounted his horse, patting the space behind him. “Come on. You wanted answers - consider this the first step.”They rode through the mist-soaked forest, hooves sinking softly into moss. Branches whispered overhead, a low hum threading through the night. The pull between them felt heavier out here - like the air itself was aware of what they were about to do.Cris leaned close, voice teasing. “You’re not going to tell me at least what we’re chasing?”“Not chasing,” Leo said. “Waiting.”“Waiting for what?”“For them to find us.”The forest broke into an open path - a lonely stretch of road where fog curled low around the stones. Far ahead, torchlight flickered, and voices murmured in the dark.A small band of men huddled around a dying campfire, ste

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