All Chapters of Forbidden Love - Awakened Hearts: Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

Vera nodded, her newly visible markings pulsing with complex emotions. "Each time they woke you, you came here eventually. Each time, I hoped it would be different. You would have enough time to remember and complete what you'd begun.""But this time is different," Costa said, understanding flowing through our connection."Yes," my aunt paused, then continued, “because your bond told you both to complete it first. That was the only way that they couldn’t put you both back into cryostasis; the bond won’t allow it. That is what the others who tried to save you missed: that you had to leave together to complete the bond first, not be brought here to restart from the beginning. It looks like those who tried to help learnt a few things along the way as well.”Vera's words hit me with the force of revelation. "That's why Lady Arinna brought us to the fountain first," I said, pieces clicking into place. "She understood what the others had missed.""Lady Arinna has been my ally for longer tha

"Your Highness," she said, her tone carefully measured, "while we acknowledge the unprecedented nature of recent events, the Council must address concerns about the stability of this transformation.""Stability?" I stepped forward, feeling power flow through me with each word. "Councillor Meren, what you call instability, we call growth. What you fear as chaos, we recognise as long-overdue change."Councillor Voss, the eldest of the seated members, spoke without rising. "Princess, with respect, you have been absent from our world for six centuries. The delicate balance we have maintained…""It has led to stagnation, due to the Council’s need for control after you imprisoned us both, for what I found my mate. Look what it's done to our people," Costa interrupted, his voice carrying the full weight of royal authority. Declining birth rates, failing colonies, a people divided against themselves. Your 'delicate bala

 And discover who we are when we're not saving the world, Costa added through our bond, his hand finding the small of my back. I know your soul, Ariella, but I want to know your laugh. Your favourite foods. What makes you happy when there's no crisis to solve?   The intimacy of his thoughts sent warmth cascading through me. Six hundred years of separation, and now we had forever to learn the small, precious details of daily life together.   "Your Highnesses," Councillor Thyss interrupted gently, "there's one more matter we must address. The succession question."   I turned back to the Council, reluctantly pulling my attention from Costa's heated gaze. "What about it?"   "With your father in extended stasis and your own transformation complete,"