Mag-log inElara VeyneI did not need to imagine Kian Varesh’s domestic life, much less his wife, and certainly not his children.And I definitely did not need to feel anything strange when thinking about either of those things.I sat on the edge of the bed.That was when I realized he was still watching me.Not openly all the time.It was a little worse than that.If I moved, he noticed.If I stood, his eyes followed me.When I went to the table, he lifted his head.When I returned to the bed, he relaxed again.It had been happening for hours, days really, but it had become different after that morning.The kiss, the way he had restrained himself, none of that had really been the wolf.I looked away.No...I didn’t need to reach any conclusions that night either.I had gone to Namarra for one reason.Power, Nythrium, independence...Enough resources that I would never again need to kneel before someone like the Caldris.Kian should have been nothing more than a step along the way.Work, nothing
Elara VeyneWe walked in silence for a few minutes.The market was already beginning to quiet down. Some of the lanterns had been extinguished, and the noise seemed farther away.I was still a little angry.“I’m not going to forget this,” I said more to myself than to him.Kian turned his face toward me.“What are you going to do?”“I don’t know.”That was the frustrating part.This wasn’t my kingdom.These weren’t my people.I had too many problems waiting for me in Aldervane to start adopting Namarra’s.Even so, the image of that little girl with blood on her face stayed in my mind.“But I’m not going to pretend I didn’t see it.”Kian remained quiet, and I kept walking.After a few steps, he spoke.“You’re good with children.”I almost tripped and turned to look at him.“What?”“The girl trusted you.”“Well... I told her I was a fairy.”“Before that.”I didn’t know what to say.There was something unsettling about hearing him comment on that. Maybe because Kian rarely made observati
## Elara Veyne“I’m going to do something, but you can’t tell anyone.”Her eyes immediately became more attentive.It was impressive how a sentence like that could turn pain into curiosity.“Why?”“Because it’s a secret.”“What secret?”“If I tell you, it won’t be a secret anymore.”She thought about that very seriously.I almost smiled.I brought my hands closer to her face.“Can I?”This time she nodded.I carefully touched my fingers to her warm skin and let only a small amount of the blessing escape.I didn’t need much. The injury was superficial.I concentrated the energy on the swelling, the tiny blood vessels ruptured beneath the skin, and the cut near her mouth. Nothing that would erase the injury completely. Doing that would draw too much attention and waste energy on something her body would heal on its own.I only helped.I accelerated the process slightly, reduced the inflammation, eased the pain.The girl’s eyes widened the moment I did it.“It’s warm...”“That’s normal.”
## Elara Veyne“Do you want me to make them stop?”I looked at Kian.Then at the men on the other side of the street.Then back at Kian.The way he had asked the question was probably what worried me most.There was no indignation on his face. No particular anger at seeing the merchant being held by his clothes, the desperate woman trying to gather broken jars from the ground, or the child sitting against the wall with blood on their face.Kian simply watched, calm and cold.As if he were evaluating a situation that had nothing to do with him.Until he looked at me.That was when something changed.His shoulders grew more tense. The hand still holding my arm loosened, though it didn’t move away completely, and his eyes moved over my face before returning to the soldiers.He didn’t seem angry because those people were being hurt.He seemed angry because I was angry.That was... concerning.For a few seconds, a very irrational part of me wanted to simply answer yes.*Yes, Kian. Make the
Elara VeyneThe man leaned slightly over the table.“There was a contract not long ago. It had to be a foreign human. Discreet work. A lot of money involved.”I felt that irritating cold sensation settle in my stomach.“To kill someone?”“I never heard that word.”“What did you hear?”“That they needed to solve a problem connected to the palace.”The silence after those words felt much too large.I felt Kian move behind me, but I didn’t look.“Who hired him?”“I don’t know.”“Who acted as the intermediary?”He hesitated slightly.“People who get paid not to ask questions.”I nearly scoffed.That didn’t help me at all.I needed to know who was involved in this.“That doesn’t answer me.”“It’s the answer I have, girl.”His voice remained calm, but not in a defensive way. That was precisely what made me believe he knew that world far better than he pretended.Maybe he was telling the truth.Or half of it.Maybe he was carefully choosing which part of the truth wouldn’t get his throat cut
Elara Veyne“Then you probably are.”The voice came from behind us.I stopped before taking my second step out of the passage and slowly turned around, still feeling the heat of Kian’s hand around my waist as though he hadn’t just let me go.The man was leaning against the wall of the neighboring building.I was certain he hadn’t been there when we went in.That alone was already a terrible introduction.He looked human. Maybe a little over thirty. He had dark hair tied at the nape of his neck, simple clothes, and a thin scar cutting through one of his eyebrows. Nothing about him stood out enough to be remembered afterward.Which was probably exactly the point.His eyes passed over me and stopped on Kian for a moment. Not for long.But long enough.Most people did that.Even dressed in ordinary clothes, Kian continued to have a serious problem with the concept of looking insignificant.He was too big.Too quiet.And now that the wolf was awake, there was something about the way he occ







