All Chapters of Across Lifetimes, Still Yours : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The fourth day of the Conclave began under heavy clouds. The sun pushed through in weak bursts, throwing cold light across Veilridge’s courtyards and long, shifting shadows over the stone. The banners along the castle walls hung damp from the night’s storm, the air heavy with the scent of wet stone and iron.Inside the great hall, the tension was thicker still - dense with perfume, candle smoke, and diplomacy’s brittle courtesy.Cris sat among Viremonthe’s delegation, every inch the composed heir, but his stillness was too careful to be calm. His eyes stayed on the scroll before him, his pen unmoving. The echo of Anna’s voice from yesterday still lingered in his mind: “Some storms are better avoided. They have a way of burning everything they touch.”He’d told himself she was bluffing. That her words were meant to intimidate, nothing more.But now, each glance she cast toward him across the chamber carried a new kind of sharpness - quiet, assessing, like she already knew too much.Bes

The storm broke before midnight.By the time Cris slipped from his chamber, the corridors had fallen silent and the air outside was clean and sharp, the scent of rain still lingering on the stone. Moonlight streamed through the arches, silver and unbroken - as if the heavens themselves had cleared the path for what was to come.He drew his cloak tight, moving like breath through shadow. His steps barely touched the marble floors. Not a single guard crossed his path.The tower garden awaited.The old courtyard was washed in pale light, its ivy glistening and roses bowed under beads of rain. The fountain in the center kept dripping, each drop echoing through the quiet.Cris stepped forward, heart racing.“You came.”Leo’s voice was soft but sure, drifting from the shadows beneath the archway. He looked different here - less a prince, more a man pulled between duty and desire. His cloak was dark, his hair still damp from the earlier rain.Cris’s breath caught. “You asked me to.”“I wasn’

Morning came silver and slow, dragging the remnants of last night’s storm through Thornvale’s courtyards. The sky hung low, bruised with clouds. Within the castle walls, the air itself felt cautious - as if holding its breath for something that hadn’t yet happened but soon would.Cris moved through the corridors as though the world were watching. Every smile from a passing noble, every glance from a servant, carried a question he couldn’t afford to answer. The warmth of Leo’s touch from last night still ghosted along his skin. He could almost hear that whispered line - it feels like home - echoing in the hollow of his chest.But home was the last thing this place could be.He kept his head down, forcing his thoughts toward duty. The Grand Conclave’s morning sessions stretched endlessly - trade terms, border patrols, blood treaties that meant nothing when the people signing them couldn’t see past their pride. Leo was at the opposite end of the table, composed as ever. Their eyes met on

Cris blinked, half-smiling. “A hunt?”Leo’s grin deepened, the moonlight cutting sharp lines across his face. “You’ll see.”“Tell me what kind.”“That would ruin the fun.”Cris folded his arms. “You’re impossible.”“Only when I’m right.” Leo mounted his horse, patting the space behind him. “Come on. You wanted answers - consider this the first step.”They rode through the mist-soaked forest, hooves sinking softly into moss. Branches whispered overhead, a low hum threading through the night. The pull between them felt heavier out here - like the air itself was aware of what they were about to do.Cris leaned close, voice teasing. “You’re not going to tell me at least what we’re chasing?”“Not chasing,” Leo said. “Waiting.”“Waiting for what?”“For them to find us.”The forest broke into an open path - a lonely stretch of road where fog curled low around the stones. Far ahead, torchlight flickered, and voices murmured in the dark.A small band of men huddled around a dying campfire, ste

Leo paused at his chamber door.Something felt… off.A subtle shift in the air - the faintest heartbeat that wasn’t his.He turned the handle slowly.The door creaked open, and moonlight spilled into the room.Anna was sitting on his bed.She didn’t move when he entered, didn’t even blink. Her gown - ivory and gold - shimmered faintly in the dim light, but her eyes… they burned.She smiled, the kind of smile that had teeth in it. “Hello, husband-to-be,” she said softly. “Where the hell have you been?”Leo’s mouth parted, but words faltered before they could form.Anna rose from the bed with deliberate grace. “Don’t even think about lying,” she said, circling him slowly. “You smell like blood.”Her gaze sharpened, nostrils flaring slightly. “And something else. Something I almost recognize.”Leo hesitated. “I went for a hunt.”“Alone?” she asked, her tone dripping disbelief. “You never hunt alone.”He met her eyes evenly. “Needed to clear my head.”Anna’s laugh cracked - short, humorle