LOGINHe took a step toward her, slow and predatory. "There will never be another. Not while I breathe. Not while I exist."His voice dropped lower. "I would burn every kingdom to ash before I let another man look at you, Sera. Do you understand me?"Sera didn’t move. Her breath quickened. Not in fear, bu
She reached for his arm—He jerked away. "I left because the rut was coming. Because I knew if I stayed, I’d mark you with another child and destroy the last pieces of you I hadn't already taken.""Rhazien—""No." His eyes burned, voice rising like a storm ready to split the world. "You think I don’
The citadel had gone quiet for the night.Lioren had taken the last shift patrolling the outer hall, his boots silent against the stone. Even the flames in the sconces burned low, as if the mountain itself held its breath.Sera had watched him earlier from the nursery doorway, the way his small fram
“Then we find another way,” she said. “Mortals have ways to—”“No.”His voice was final, sharp as a blade. “We’re not talking about root teas or salves. I know what my body is capable of. I know what I’ll take from you if I lose control.”“You didn’t lose control. Not even once.”He shook his head s
It had been weeks since the birth, yet the mountain still felt like it held its breath—like every stone and shadow remembered the moment blood painted its halls. The air remained thick, not with smoke or heat, but with silence. A silence that pressed down, weighty and expectant, as though waiting fo
"So will I."Rhazien, watching from a short distance, didn’t speak. But he inclined his head once—slight, solemn. A gesture full of unspoken meaning.It was the closest thing to a blessing he’d ever given.And this time, Lioren didn't flinch from it.He straightened his spine.Sera watched him for a
The words landed like ash.Rhazien’s hand dropped from Sera’s back.She didn’t see him move.One heartbeat, he stood beside her.The next, he shifted.The sound of bone and magic cracking through the silence was louder than any outcry. Someone cried out. A mother pulled her child close and turned th
It had been nearly two weeks since the trials.In that time, the court had sent summon after summon—each one colder than the last. Rhazien refused them all. He had grown tired of their forgetfulness, of the way they spoke as though power sat in their hands and not his. Let them scheme, let them whis
They stayed like that for a while—bodies tangled, hearts aligned. His fingers traced the edge of her shoulder, a quiet loop of comfort that never rushed. He breathed her in like he couldn’t quite believe she was still there.“You know,” she murmured, “when I was inside the flame, all I could think a
Sera woke to pain—not sharp, but deep. Lingering. The kind that lived in bone and blood. Her body ached in places she didn’t have names for, and her skin felt bruised by magic alone. The silk sheets were cool against her thighs, and the scent of smoke still clung to her hair.She was alive.And the







