AuroraI keep my eyes closed, not because I’m afraid, but because seeing the room would make it all too real. This room is set up for me. The wall are lined with soft candlelight and scented smoke fills my lungs.The bed beneath me has been dressed in ivory silk as if the beauty of the room can soften what's about to happen.I can feel the oil on my skin, still warm where the elder priestess brushed it along my thighs, across my chest, then down my arms. They told me to lie still, to open myself to the ritual, and to make myself ready in both mind and body.This is tradition, it's the first step before the claiming and marriage, and so, I obeyed.My hand moves slowly between my legs, my fingers slick with heat and trembling slightly. I’m supposed to think of Caelan and I’m meant to imagine the weight of him over me, the way he’ll touch and bite and mark me as his.The issue is, no matter how hard I try to summon his face, it doesn’t come, and all I see is someone else, Killian. The sh
Last Updated : 2025-07-02 Read more