جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

The teasing followed Evren long after the music had faded. He'd accepted by now that there was no outrunning it — every villager he passed seemed to have a knowing grin or a cheerful clap on the shoulder waiting for him."You danced well, Your Highness!" one called."You looked happier than usual!" said another."When's the wedding?" asked a third.Evren stopped in his tracks. "What?"The elderly man who'd asked simply chuckled and shuffled off, entirely unbothered by the chaos he'd left behind. Pearl ducked her head, biting back a laugh she couldn't quite hide. Rosalie made no such effort — she doubled over laughing outright."I like this village," she declared."Of course you do," Evren muttered.Finn clapped him on the back. "I've never seen an entire village gang up on one man like this.""They're not against me.""No, they're having the time of their lives.""That's worse."Astrid shook her head, clearly amused. "You really walked into this one.""I danced into it," Evren correct

By the time the Harvest Festival drew to a close, the sky had turned into a canvas of deep orange bleeding into soft pink. Villagers lined the main road, waving as the royal party made ready to leave. A knot of children still clung to the stuffed wolf Finn had won earlier, flatly ignoring his increasingly theatrical pleas to get it back."I've been replaced," Finn announced, wounded.The little girl holding the toy grinned up at him. "He likes us better."Finn pressed a hand to his chest. "I understand. It's painful... but I understand."Astrid laughed. "You'll survive.""I suppose I must."Before mounting his horse, Evren crossed back to the children one last time. "You all behaved well today."The boy who'd challenged him to the race puffed out his chest. "We beat you.""You certainly did.""Will you race us again next time?"Evren smiled. "If you promise not to get any faster.""No promises.""I was afraid you'd say that," he said, and the children dissolved into laughter.As the g

The training session ended with Mira proudly declaring she'd defeat everyone in the palace before her sixteenth birthday.Evren ruffled her hair as they walked back inside. "You've already planned the next ten years of our suffering."She brushed his hand away. "It's called ambition.""It's called confidence.""It's called being realistic.""I admire your optimism," Lucien said, laughing quietly."You'll admire it more once I beat you.""I'll prepare myself."As everyone scattered back to their own day, Lucien tucked Elias's journal under his arm and headed for the library. Rosalie caught him before he got far."Going back already?""There are still a few pages I haven't translated.""You've barely taken a break.""I took one. I watched Mira chase me around a courtyard.""I suppose that counts," she said, smiling. She hesitated a beat. "Mind if I join you?"Something in his expression lifted, faint but real. "I was hoping you would."They walked through the quiet corridors side by sid

Lucien and Rosalie stood frozen, neither one finding a single word to say. The library, usually a place for quiet thoughts and endless pages, suddenly felt far too small for everything crowding into it.Rosalie looked down at her wrist again. The silver light had faded, leaving nothing but smooth skin. "If it's gone," she said, glancing at Freya, "did we imagine it?""No," Freya said, gentle. "The mark only shows itself when the bond first wakes. It doesn't need to stay visible to be real."Lucien still hadn't looked away from Rosalie. His mind was racing and somehow perfectly still at once. "So," he said slowly, like saying it too fast might make it vanish, "we're mates."A faint smile touched her lips. "It would seem so."Neither of them knew what came after that. Eros caught the uncertainty right away."Being mates doesn't change who you are overnight," he said, in the same steady voice that had guided his children their whole lives. "It only reveals a bond that was already there."

Over the next few days, the palace settled back into a peaceful rhythm. The excitement around Lucien and Rosalie's bond hadn't faded, but the constant teasing had at least started to ease. Mostly.Finn walked into breakfast carrying a tray of pastries, saw the two of them sitting side by side, and stopped short. "Oh. I see.""What now?" Lucien said, not looking up from his book."I suppose there isn't any room for me.""There's an entire table," Rosalie said."Emotionally.""Ignore him," Astrid said, coming in behind him."I've been trying for years," Lucien said."That was unnecessarily honest," Finn said, hand over his heart, while Pearl laughed into her tea and even Evren couldn't quite hide a smile.Lucien finally set the book down. "You do realize nothing's actually changed.""Everything has changed. You smile more.""He does," Rosalie said, all innocence."You're supposed to defend me.""I am. I'm defending the truth."Before Finn could get any further, the dining room doors ope