Chapter 4

The moon-wine was just the beginning.

The next morning, as I walked down from the tower, Kaelen and Cassian were already sitting at opposite ends of the long dining table.

Normally, I would sit right in the middle, ensuring my distance to both of them was perfectly equal.

But today was different.

I walked straight to the chair next to Kaelen and sat down.

"Good morning, Kaelen," I said softly, then leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

It was a standard morning greeting between dragon mates, but I had never dared to initiate it before.

Kaelen stiffened slightly, a flash of pleasant surprise in his eyes. "Good morning, my apothecary."

I could feel the icy glare burning into me from the other end of the table, but I didn't look back.

During breakfast, I only passed utensils to Kaelen, only refilled his glass, and only asked if he had enough to eat.

"The honey-roasted meat is really good today," I picked up the most tender piece and put it on his plate. "Eat more."

"Thank you," Kaelen replied warmly. He even took the initiative to cut up some elven fruit for me. "You should eat more too, you've been too thin lately."

He gently held my wrist and fed the fruit to my lips.

The intimacy of the gesture made my heart race and my cheeks flush.

From the other end of the table came the harsh, grating sound of a knife scraping violently against a plate.

I still didn't give Cassian a single glance.

That afternoon, while brewing high-tier stamina potions in the apothecary, I deliberately poured the purest, most potent batch entirely for Kaelen.

"It's a new recipe. The recovery effects are stronger," I handed him the vial. "You trained too hard yesterday."

"Your alchemy skills are getting sharper," Kaelen praised genuinely. "This is even better than what the werewolf apothecaries make for the Alliance."

His praise made my heart soar.

This felt so good.

I no longer had to worry about being ignored, shoved away, left behind, or verbally abused.

Kaelen would reply to my good mornings instantly. He would carefully taste every meal I cooked. He would gently ask about my health.

Compared to this, the way I had pleased Cassian for the past year was pure self-torture.

By dusk, the air in the estate was thick with tension.

I was sorting herbs in the hall while Cassian sat by the fireplace, wiping his dragon-scale armor.

"Are you going to help with the battle maps or not?" His tone was sharp, but I heard the flicker of uncertainty beneath it.

Normally, hearing that, I would drop everything and eagerly run over to help him with those complicated tactical charts, even though he constantly complained I was clumsy.

But not anymore.

"No." I kept sorting my herbs without looking up. "I'm busy."

Cassian’s hand visibly paused.

Right then, Kaelen pushed the door open, still slick with sweat from training.

"Elara, want to go to the back mountain? I just improved my crossbow technique."

I immediately dropped the herbs, my eyes lighting up with interest. "Yes! I want to learn how to shoot."

"I'll teach you." Kaelen walked over and chivalrously draped a cloak over my shoulders. "It's windy up there, don't catch a cold."

We intertwined our fingers and headed for the door.

Just as we crossed the threshold, a deafening crack echoed behind us.

I looked back. Cassian was standing by the hearth, holding a custom elven longbow snapped cleanly in two.

It was his prized possession, incredibly expensive, now broken by his bare hands.

Splinters flew through the air, sharp fragments almost hitting us.

Cassian stared darkly at our joined hands, a chilling, twisted smile creeping onto his face.

"How touching," he sneered, his voice dripping poison. "Enjoying playing the devoted lover, Kaelen? As if you could ever truly fall for a fragile mortal."