All Chapters of Bound to The Enemy of My Mate : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

The door was locked, the world shut out. In the quiet of the royal guest room, the only sounds were the soft crackle of the dying fire and the slow, steady rhythm of two heartbeats.Elira lay with her head on Thane’s chest, her ear pressed against the firm muscle, listening to the strong, sure pulse of his heart. His arm was wrapped around her, a solid, comforting weight holding her to him. One of her hands rested on his stomach, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his breath. For a long time, they didn't speak. There were no words needed in this silence. It was enough to just be, to breathe each other in—the familiar, grounding scent of pine and open fields that was uniquely his washing over her, a balm to her perpetually frayed nerves.It was she who finally broke the quiet, her voice a soft murmur against his shirt. "The packs," she began, "where did you take them? What is it like there?"Thane’s chest expanded under her cheek as he took a deep breath, his fingers tracing a slow, ab

The royal workshop was tense and quiet. The usual smells of hot metal and acid were there. The usual sounds of hammers and arguments were there. But for Kael, everything was different.He watched Elira from across the room. She looked focused, examining an iron tube with the alchemist. But Kael saw the truth.Her hands trembled faintly as she held a tool. She stared at blueprints without seeing them. Her shoulders were stiff, permanently braced. She was physically present, but mentally somewhere else, consumed by a private fear.The silence between them was now charged with his worry. He saw her jump when a tool clattered to the floor, her hand flinching to her chest before she controlled it.He couldn't stand it.Without a word, he caught the eye of a young servant boy lingering by the doorway. He gestured him over and gave a quiet, firm order. The boy nodded and scurried off. A short while later, the boy returned with a simple clay cup, steam curling gently from its top. Kael took i

The princess Ilyana’s silver brush stilled in her hand. In the mirror, her eyes found her maid’s reflection. “She has left the palace.”Mira, who had been waiting for this, nodded eagerly.“Last night. And Lord Kael rode for the Malven estate at dawn.”A cold smile touched Ilyana’s lips. It vanished only when her knight entered.“My lady. Lord Kael has returned. Alone.”The smile returned, genuine now.“The full moon is tonight,” Ilyana stated, though it was not a question.She turned.“Hire professionals. Shadows. Send them to the Malven estate to observe only. They must not be seen.”“Your Majesty?” Mira frowned. “Why assassins as watchers?”“Because a simple spy would die,” Ilyana said, her voice sharp.“That woman has a secret. A power. If my men see it, they will survive to tell me. Now, go.”_That night_In his room, Kael was losing his war. He wasn't drinking to forget, but to excise the memory: two plates, a crumb of bread, Thane’s unyielding posture. The moon, pale and accusin

The morning sun streamed into Princess Ilyana’s chambers, but it brought no warmth. She stood by the window, her posture rigid, as her personal knight finished his report.“The Lady Elira returned to the palace at first light,Your Highness. She has just arrived at the workshop.”Ilyana did not turn.“And the men we sent to the Malven estate? Has there been any word?”“No,Your Highness.” The knight’s voice was carefully neutral. “I maintained watch myself. There was no alarm raised, no increase in guards. The estate was… quiet. It was as if they never discovered any intruders at all.”The silence that followed was thick and heavy.Ilyana’s fingers, resting on the windowsill, curled into tight fists. Her mind, sharp and calculating, began to piece together the impossible puzzle.There was only one reason professional spies did not return.They were dead. But the estate was calm. The bodies had vanished as if they had never existed.Her blood ran cold.Who killed them if not the guards?Thane

The new routine held for weeks. Breakfast in Kael’s room became as normal as the sunrise. Elira would often arrive to find him not quite finished dressing, and the quiet ritual of her buttoning his shirts became a silent language between them. In the workshop, they were a seamless unit, their technical discussions now layered with an easy familiarity that made the rest of the team relax. At meals, she would still add food to his plate, and he would still save the spiced apple for her. They shared a bed every night, sometimes talking in the dark, sometimes lying in a silence that was no longer entirely awkward, but filled with a fragile, shared warmth.It was a peace they had built together, brick by careful brick.But peace in the royal palace was a fragile thing, and its echo always reached the wrong ears.Princess Ilyana listened to her maid’s latest report, her expression unmoved. She sat at her vanity, not looking at the servant, but instead studying her own reflection as if it hel