Alle Kapitel von TRIBUTE TO THE LYCAN KING: The Ironblood Heiress: Kapitel 121 – Kapitel 125

VAELARIONI waited the entire day like a condemned man.Every hour that passed felt heavier. I expected Seraphina to storm in, scream at me, or demand answers about the curse, about how I had first seen her as a tool, but she said nothing.She moved through our chambers quietly. I watched her feed Caelan, her hands gentle as she held our son to her breast. The boy drank peacefully while she stroked his dark hair. Every few minutes her eyes would lift to me. I sat at the table pretending to read maps, but my hands shook. Three hundred years of ruling, and one small woman had undone me.She carried Caelan and left my chamber, probably heading to hers. I didn't say a word to stop her. When night came, the door opened and Seraphina stepped inside wearing a simple robe. She closed the door behind her with a soft click that sounded louder than any war drum.I stood up. My throat felt tight. “Seraphina…”She raised her hand, I stopped talking. For the first time in centuries, I obeyed wit

CAELUM The wind carried the scent of decay across the empty fields. I sat alone in the great hall, staring at the cold hearth. Isolde was gone. The war I had waged just to get Seraphina and completely ignored Isolde while at it had turned to dust in my mouth. I no longer craved conquest or victory. Only silence remained.The estate felt like a tomb. My hands trembled around an untouched goblet. I had believed power could protect what I loved. Instead, it had poisoned everything I touched.Then the final blow came. Elias...my oldest friend, the man who had ridden beside me since boyhood was found dead near the eastern border. His throat had been torn open, his body abandoned for the crows. No message, no warning just another life lost to the wreckage of my choices. I rode out alone, knelt in the mud beside his remains, and wept like a child for the first time in years.Everyone around me had paid for my obsession. My wars. My need to dominate and possess, everyone except Seraphina.M

SERAPHINAMonths had passed since our lives turned upside down. Spring had turned into summer, and now the leaves were starting to change color again. Little Caelan was growing so fast. He was a happy toddler with bright eyes, messy dark hair, and a laugh that could fill the whole palace. He loved running around the gardens with his wooden sword, pretending to be a brave knight.Caelum came to visit often. At first, it was just to see his nephew. He would arrive on his tall horse, wearing his simple traveling cloak, and Caelan would shout “Uncle!” and run straight into his arms. I watched them from the window with my heart feeling heavy and warm at the same time. But every visit made things more complicated between Caelum and me.We tried to keep our talks short and safe. We spoke about Caelan’s favorite foods, how he was learning new words, and his first riding lessons on a gentle pony. But our eyes always said more than our words. The old feelings between us had never really died. T