"You stay with us," Kalyndi said firmly. "As Redmon's ward, you're under his protection. No one can force a matching on you."
"For how long?"
I shifted, wincing as the movement pulled at my wounds. "Until you choose your own path. That's what the protection rite means freedom to choose."
Selene's eyes widened. "I can return to the terramares?"
"If that's what you want," I confirmed. "Though given the current climate, staying here might be safer until the politics settle."
Kalyndi returned with her medical supplies, gently removing the temporary bandages to expose my wounds. Her touch was clinical but gentle as she cleaned the deep gashes Gristholm's claws had left.
"These will need stitching," she murmured, preparing a needle.
Selene moved closer, watching her sister work. "I can help. You taught me the basic patterns."
The sisters worked together, their movements synchronized as they treated my injuries. I watched them through a haze of pain and something that felt surprisingly like contentment. Despite everything with the political danger, my physical injuries, the uncertainty of what came next, there was something right about this moment.
"Thank you," Kalyndi said as she finished binding a deep wound. "For what you did today. For Selene."
I met her gaze, finding tears shimmering in her eyes. Not tears of fear or anger as I'd seen before, but something else entirely.
"I still don't understand why," she continued. "You risked everything."
The question echoed my confusion. Why had I done it? The political explanation I'd given the elders felt hollow now, in the quiet intimacy of our dwelling. The truth was both simpler and more complicated.
"Because it was right," I said finally. "Because no one should be forced into a matching they don't want."
The irony of my words hung between us. After all, wasn't that exactly what had happened to Kalyndi herself? Matched with me against her will?
"Even me?" she asked quietly, as if reading my thoughts.
I swallowed hard. "Especially you."
Selene looked between us. "I'll... check what supplies we have for dinner," she said tactfully, slipping out of the room.
Alone with Kalyndi, I found myself at a loss for words. The realization that had been building for weeks crystallized in that moment. I wanted her to stay with me, but not because of some forced matching or political arrangement. I wanted her to choose me, as impossible as that seemed.
"What happens now?" she asked, echoing her sister's earlier question.
"I don't know," I admitted. "The council will challenge my actions. Magnus Terra will demand explanations. But Selene is safe, and that's what matters."
Kalyndi's hand rested lightly on my bandaged chest. "And you? Are you safe?"
"Probably not," I said, with a weak attempt at humor. "But I've survived worse."
Her expression remained serious. "You didn't have to do this. It wasn't your fight."
"It became my fight when you asked for my help." I covered her hand with mine. "I meant what I said in the arena. About choice. About what's right."
Tears spilled over, tracking down her cheeks. "I never thought I'd be grateful to the monster they forced me to marry."
The wordmonsterno longer stung coming from her lips. Context had transformed it from slur to something almost affectionate.
"And I never thought I'd risk everything for a human," I replied softly. "Yet here we are."
Kalyndi leaned forward, resting her forehead against mine in a gesture of intimacy that took my breath away. "Here we are," she whispered.
Nine
