All Chapters of The King’s Relentless Desire: Chapter 181 - Chapter 187

Chapter One Hundred Seventy SixLiana POVThe courtyard is still shaking from everything that just happened.People move around us in a blur, tending to the wounded, closing the gates, shouting orders I can barely hear.All I can feel is Kael’s heartbeat under my hands.His arms stay around me until I finally breathe normally again.He keeps his forehead against mine for a moment, grounding me, steadying everything inside me that was falling apart.When he finally speaks, his voice is quieter than the night around us.“He won’t come back,” he says.“He knows now.”I shake my head.“He doesn’t stop. Not when he wants something.”Kael brushes a hand along my jaw, steady, gentle, firm.“He can want whatever he wants,” he says.“You’re not his to claim.”Something inside me unclenches at that.Maybe it’s fear.Maybe it’s relief.Maybe it’s both.Kael helps me to my feet.My legs feel weak, but he doesn’t let go until I’m steady.The air smells like smoke and iron and cold stone.The torch

Chapter One Hundred Seventy Eight Liana POVI’m still sitting close to Kael when the knock comes.Not loud.Not urgent.Just enough to pull both of us out of the moment.Kael doesn’t let go of my hand right away.He squeezes once before he stands.“It’s probably Mira checking in,” he says.I nod, but my chest tightens anyway.Everything about today feels like a step forward and a step into fire at the same time.Kael opens the door only halfway.Mira stands there with her arms crossed, eyes sharp but worried.“You two need to get downstairs,” she says.“No one’s shouting, no one’s fighting, but the air feels like a blade about to drop.”Kael turns to me.“You ready?”No.Not completely.But I stand anyway.“I’m coming.”We walk out together.I don’t grab his hand again, but he stays close—close enough that I feel him with every step.The halls look different this morning.No chaos.No shouting.Just people watching us pass like they’re waiting for the conclusion of something they’ve

Chapter One Hundred Eighty Liana POV Kael’s shoulder stays warm against mine.The room feels different with him sitting here.Not crowded.Just steady in a way my body leans toward before I even realise it.I breathe out slowly.My fingers pick at the edge of the blanket without thinking.My hands won’t stay still.Every breath feels too loud inside my head, but it’s better than the heavy dread that used to sit in my chest whenever doors closed behind me.Kael notices the way my hand fidgets.He doesn’t grab it.He doesn’t try to still it.He lets me move through whatever this feeling is.“I can’t stop replaying his face,” I say.My voice is low, almost tired.Not weak.Just worn down.Like the whole day pressed its hands into me and didn’t let go.Kael shifts a little closer.His knee bumps mine again.The contact feels grounding.“He didn’t expect you to stand against him,” Kael says.“Not like that.”I swallow.My throat feels rough.My brother’s voice echoes in my head even thou

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Two Liana POVI stand there for a second, breathing in and trying to settle myself, because this is it. Everything I’ve dragged myself through, every choice that pulled me in circles, every moment I thought I was done for… it all leads right here. And I don’t feel calm. Not even close. My chest stays tight and my hands stay warm like my body is trying to warn me something is about to shift for good.I step forward anyway.The room feels different as soon as I walk in. Like air after a storm, heavy but clear. He’s there, watching me, and I can tell he’s been waiting. He’s not pretending to be collected. He’s not hiding anything. His shoulders stay still in that way people do when they’ve made up their mind about something that doesn’t have a rewind button.I shut the door behind me and his eyes follow the sound. I don’t speak yet. My thoughts scatter too fast. I feel everything I’ve carried hitting me all at once and it almost knocks the breath out of me.He