Mag-log inElara's POVI stared at him, something cold replacing the warmth that had been building in my chest only moments before. "Is that truly all this is to you," I asked quietly. "A requirement, satisfied?""What else would you have me call it," he said, his jaw tight."I do not know," I admitted, my voice unsteady now. "Happiness, perhaps. Or at least something other than this.""Do you want me to be happy," he said, something sharp and bitter cutting through his voice now. "Is that truly what you expect from me, Elara? That I should celebrate this? This is a child born from captivity, from a drug forced into my blood, from an arrangement built entirely on breaking me into submission for your King's benefit. Whatever happiness you imagine I should feel, I cannot find it.""That is not what this has become," I said, something desperate creeping into my voice now. "Not between us. You know that is not fair.""Is it not," he said. "This child exists because your King wanted me bound to this
Elara's POVSomething warm bloomed in my chest at the sight of him, and I found myself moving before I had fully decided to, stepping away from Sable toward the edge of camp where he stood."Perhaps you should wait," Sable called after me, amusement still thick in her voice. "Let him settle in first. He has only just returned.""I only want to see that he is well," I said over my shoulder, not slowing."Mm hmm," Sable said, drawing the sound out knowingly. "Only to see that he is well. Nothing more.""Nothing more," I said firmly, though my pace quickened despite myself."You missed him," Sable called, something gently teasing in her tone now, loud enough that I heard it clearly even as I continued walking.I did not answer, though the small, foolish flutter in my chest told me she was not entirely wrong. It had only been a day apart, a single day of separate paths through the column, and still something in me had ached at the distance, had wanted nothing more than to close the space
Elara's POVThe tent felt smaller than it had the night before, crowded with furs and bedrolls as the other women settled in for the evening. We had stopped earlier than planned, the main party deciding to make camp while the last stretch of ground before the border could be crossed fresh in the morning light instead of exhausted limbs in the fading dusk.I sat near the small fire burning at the center of the tent, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, watching the flames without truly seeing them. I had not spoken to Lucian since that morning, since the belt and the teasing and the warmth that had passed between us before everything shifted into marching and distance and separate paths through the column.And I still had not told him.For some reason, I wanted to see him. Not only to know that he was unharmed, but to feel him close, the way I had grown used to feeling him close these past weeks.Sharing a bed with him had done this to me. It had to be that. Nothing more."You are
Lucian's POV"It was not meant to be reassuring," Kane said. "Only honest. I have dealt with that particular discomfort for years now. You are simply the newest member of a very old group.""What exactly is it about him," I asked, "that earns such long standing suspicion? You speak like a man who has had years to build the case.""Years," Kane confirmed. "We came up through the ranks together, Thane and I. Same training grounds, same battles, more than once standing shoulder to shoulder against the same enemy. And through all of it, something about him never sat right with me.""Specifics," I pressed. "What does that mean, exactly.""He smiles too easily after losses," Kane said slowly, as though turning the thought over carefully before speaking it aloud. "Most warriors grieve fallen men. Thane calculates what their deaths mean for his own standing instead.""That is a dangerous man to have commanding part of this force," I said."It is," Kane agreed. "Which is exactly why I watch hi
Lucian's POVThe wind cut sharp across the cliff's edge, carrying the scent of pine and distant snow. Below us, the land stretched out in uneven folds, dark forest giving way to open fields, and beyond that, the first signs of Eastern territory, smoke rising faintly from what I guessed were outlying villages.Kane stood beside me, his arms crossed, studying the terrain with the same careful attention I was giving it. Four other warriors stood a short distance behind us, quiet, watchful, waiting."We are finally at the border," Kane said, his eyes sweeping across the valley below. "Between the East and the North.""This is it," I said."Once we cross this cliff," Kane continued, "we will be on their lands. No turning back from that point.""There was no turning back the moment we left camp," I said."True enough," Kane admitted. "Though crossing this line makes it feel different somehow. More final. This is further than I expected to see this soon," he said, his breath fogging in the c
Elara's POVThe camp outside buzzed with activity, warriors gathering supplies, checking weapons, tightening straps on wagons loaded with grain and medical stores. I made my way toward the group of women gathered near the edge of camp, Sable and Brenna already among them, bundling cloaks and packs for the march ahead."There you are," Fenwick called out as I approached, his voice carrying over the noise. "Nice of you to join us, Elara."I rolled my eyes, setting down my own pack beside the others. "I have other responsibilities, Fenwick.""Yes," he said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Satisfying the Southern prince, from what I hear."A ripple of laughter passed through the women nearby, and heat rushed immediately to my cheeks."At least someone around here is satisfied with something," I shot back, unable to resist, and the laughter grew louder, even Fenwick chuckling despite himself."Fair enough," he said, shaking his head, still grinning as he turned back toward his own t







