تسجيل الدخولRowan moved before he could think.
One moment he was kneeling beside Damian's chair, the next he was across the room, his arms wrapping around Nathan with a force that would have knocked them both over if Nathan hadn't braced himself.
Nathan's breath left him in a surprised huff, but his arms came up immediately, holding just as tightly.
"
Damian rose from his chair.The movement was slow, deliberate—the kind of motion that said he had made a decision and nothing in the world would change it.He turned to face Ezekiel."Why would you stop them?" His voice was quiet, but it filled the room.Ezekiel met his gaze. There was no mockery in his eyes now, no theatrical glitter. Just exhaustion and something that looked almost like pity."Because all of you are making the situation worse."Damian's jaw tightened. "How?"Ezekiel was silent for a moment.Then he lifted his hands, palms up, an offering and a warning."I can show
The mage's name was Corin, and he had been having a perfectly pleasant dream about a library with infinite books and an endless supply of tea when his door slammed open hard enough to crack against the wall.Corin jerked awake with a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a yelp, his hands flying up in instinctive defense against... whatever disaster was about to consume him.Lucian Blackwood stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the torchlight from the corridor, looking very much like a man who had decided that sleep was for people who hadn't just discovered that reality was falling apart."Contact Lord Edric," Lucian said. No preamble. No apology for the near-cardiac event he'd just caused. Just command.Corin blinked at him.Then blinked agai
The door to the study opened without a knock—because Lucian had long ago decided that knocking was for people who had time to waste.He strode in, a message scroll in his hand, his mouth already open to deliver Silas's news—And stopped dead.Nathan was standing in the middle of the room.Not a vision. Not a messenger. Not a letter.Nathan. In the capital. In Damian's private study. As if he'd simply materialized out of thin air.Lucian's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.Nothing came out.For a long, terrible moment, no one moved.Then Lucian pressed a hand to his
Rowan moved before he could think.One moment he was kneeling beside Damian's chair, the next he was across the room, his arms wrapping around Nathan with a force that would have knocked them both over if Nathan hadn't braced himself.Nathan's breath left him in a surprised huff, but his arms came up immediately, holding just as tightly."Ro," Nathan whispered into Rowan's shoulder. "Ro, I'm here."Rowan pulled back just enough to grab Nathan's face in both hands, his silver eyes scanning every inch of him with desperate intensity."You look terrible," Rowan said, his voice rough. "You look thin. Exhausted. What happened? Are you okay? Why do you always do this—why do you always carry everything alone—"
The ride back to the Cross estate was quiet.Nathan rode at the front, his face carved from stone, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Alessio kept pace beside him, watching without hovering. The rest of the group followed in silence, the weight of what they'd learned pressing down on all of them.The estate rose out of the snow like a promise.Maria was waiting.She stood on the steps, wrapped in a heavy cloak, her eyes scanning the approaching party with the desperate hope of a mother who had learned that hope was dangerous. Ivy stood beside her, just as tense, just as watchful.When she saw Nathan—alive, whole,here—something in her shoulders loosened.But then she saw their faces.
The carriage ride was a blur of white and gray.Ezekiel stared out the window, watching the snow-covered landscape pass by in silence. The driver had tried to make conversation twice. Both times, Ezekiel had responded with monosyllables that discouraged further attempts.He didn't look like himself.The prophet who had arrived at the cave site days ago—all flowing robes and sharp smiles and eyes that gleamed with dangerous amusement—was gone. In his place sat a hollow man, pale and drawn, his hands clasped tightly in his lap as if he was afraid they might start shaking if he let go.The cave site came into view.Ezekiel was out of the carriage before it fully stopped.&n
Damian didn’t know what he expected—maybe another sneer, maybe silence—but not that. Nathan’s smile landed like a blow. Not warm, not open, but real, and that made it worse. Easy to read and honest with themselves. The words worked on him like a quiet indictment. Once, Damian had been exactly that.
He found Silas in the barracks courtyard, tightening the bridle on his horse. The man was alone—his soldiers had already dispersed after drills.“Sir Kane,” Lucian called, voice smooth, carrying just enough authority to make Silas’s hand pause mid-motion.“Lord Commander,” Silas replied without loo
Silas’s knuckles were still pink from the cuffs when he arrived at Nathan’s chambers. The knock was soft, almost uncertain, as if he didn’t want to startle anyone inside.Nathan looked up immediately from his desk — the ink on the letter before him still wet, the quill trembling in his fingers. He
The days blurred after that night.Damian never planned to avoid Nathan—not consciously. But somehow, every time he entered a room and saw Nathan already there, his footsteps slowed, his direction shifted, and he found a reason—any reason—to speak to someone else first. He told himself he was givin







