“And you’re bonded to a king who answers to no one.” He stopped in front of me, his eyes burning. “If that bond remains, every realm will unite against him. Againstyou. Not because you’re evil, but because Kairos will be unstoppable.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“They will call it balance,” Vaeris growled. “They will say they had no choice.”
“Then let me leave! I’ll take Rheya and go. We won’t be anyone’s threat.”
Vaeris smiled sadly. “You already are.”
Kairos!
“I’m calling in our deal,” Vaeris said calmly. “I kept your sister safe. I honored my terms, and now you will honor yours.”
The magic closed around my body.
“Break the mating bond.”
My knees buckled as the deal controlled my will, squeezing,demanding. It didn’t care that I was screaming inside.
Kairos.
The bond flared in response—warm, desperate,confused. I felt him reaching for me, his alarm spiking.
Aelie? What’s happening? Where are you?
I’m in Skalgard.
Everything on his end was disordered. Pain. Darkness. The sensation of a mattress under his cheek.
Fuck, you’re with Vaeris.Hold on. I’m coming.
I pressed my fingers against the rune, the mating bond I’d barely discovered. Gold threaded with crimson, pulsing with his heartbeat alongside mine. The most precious gift I’d ever been given.
Vaeris faced the wall, his shoulders slumped.
“Don’t do this,” I begged him. “Please. I’ll be your Speaker. I’ll help you with the dragons, the courts, whatever you want. Just don’t?—”
“Don’t take the one thing you actually care about?”
“Yes.”
He kept his back to me, like looking at me would fracture him.
“I love him.” My voice splintered. “I loved him before I knew what we were.”
“The bond came first.”
“No, I swear. I fell for him.”
“It’s magic.” His voice softened. “It rewrites your heart—all your desires. You didn’t notice. That’s how they work. By the time you feel it, you’re already drowning.”
I shook my head. “That’s not true.”
Vaeris rubbed his jaw, sighing. “He let you believe it was choice, but the magic had its teeth in you from the start. Trust me. I’ve seen what they do.”
“I’m happy.” Tears streamed down my face. “And you want to take that from me? Rip out the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”
His fingers curled against the desk. “You’re a weapon I can’t afford to lose.”
