He’d nearly lost control. Because of me.
“I’m not your enemy, Kaelith,” I said, softer now. “And I didn’t ask for any of this.”
I thought he’d say something more. His lips parted, but no sound came. Then he turned sharply and left, the frost closing behind him like a door.
Fenrir pressed his head against my knee, a low rumble in his chest.
“I know,” I whispered, fingers trembling as they sank into his fur. “He’s unraveling.”
But what I didn’t admit—not even to myself—was that I was too.
By nightfall, the whispers had teeth.
Every corridor hummed with them—soft laughter, the scrape of boots pausing just long enough for me to notice. The Hold felt smaller, as if the walls themselves had learned my name. Maeryn told me to stay inside until the talk “cooled,” but gossip never froze in Winter. It spread like cracks through ice, impossible to repair once it started.
When I finally stepped into the hall, Kael was waiting. Leaning against a frost pillar, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His usual lightness was gone, replaced by something sharper.
“You’ve been busy,” he said.
“If that’s another rumor, I’d rather not hear it.”
“It isn’t.” He pushed off the pillar, closing the space between us. “Kaelith was seen leaving your chambers. Alone. Late.”
I met his gaze. “Then you already know what the Court is whispering.”
“I want to hear it from you.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
He studied me, every trace of his usual teasing stripped away. “You’re shaking.”
“From cold.”
“No, you’re not.” His voice softened. “He hurts you. You let him.”
My pulse kicked hard. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
“I know what he becomes when he’s cornered.” He stepped closer. “I saw it once. Long before you arrived.”
There was something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before—fear, maybe. Or memory. Either way, it made the air heavy between us.
“Kael—”
“Tell me you’ll stay away from him.”
“I can’t.”
He exhaled, frustrated. “Of course you can’t. You never do what you should.”
“It’s not up to me,” I snapped. “None of this is. You act like I command the Winter Court when I can’t even command myself.”
He went still, jaw tightening. For a second, I thought I’d driven him away. Then he reached out, his hand hovering just short of my face.
“You don’t see it, do you?” he said quietly. “You’ve already changed him.”
“Kael—”
“Don’t.” His voice broke around the word. “Because if you say my name like that again, I might forget he’s my brother.”
