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
He didn’t hear her. Or couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.She pressed her hands to his chest, felt the slick heat of blood and magic and rage boiling beneath his skin. His muscles coiled like steel beneath her palms, trembling—not from weakness, but from the barely leashed instinct to destroy. He was on the edg
The scent of blood hadn’t yet faded from her hands.Sera paced the chamber like a wolf circling the edges of a trap, her bare feet smeared with gold. The healers worked in tense silence behind her, tending to Rhazien’s wound with salves and enchantments that flickered like embers. He hadn’t woken ye
Sera stepped out of the bathing chamber, toweling the ends of her damp hair, expecting to find Rhazien sprawled across the nest as he usually was—half-asleep, warm and waiting.But he wasn’t.He was standing at the edge of it, arms folded, his eyes fixed on the silks and furs like they’d turned to a
Alina’s hand slipped over hers. "You survived.""No," Sera said quietly. "I lived. There's a difference."Alina turned her head slightly. "Do you think it could’ve been different? If we’d been born in another time?"Sera gave a faint, tired smile. "If we had been, I doubt either of us would’ve been







