A few of the warriors shift uncomfortably. Good. Let them be uncomfortable. Let them think about the human cost of the system they’ve been upholding.
“We will discuss specific reforms in council,” Karax says, his hand finding the small of my back—possessive, supportive. “For now, know that Lady Hannah speaks with my voice. Disrespect to her is disrespect to me.”
His power pulses through the room, making the crystals flare and the stone groan. A reminder of what he is. What he can do to anyone who crosses him.
The hall begins to empty. Lords and warriors file out, most avoiding my gaze. A few nod—not respect, exactly, but acknowledgment. They’ll wait and see. They’ll watch me prove myself or fail.
Greymun is the last to leave. He pauses at the door, looking back at us with an expression I can’t quite read. Calculation, certainly. Hatred, probably. But something else too—patience. The patience of someone who’s been playing political games for centuries and knows that one setback doesn’t mean defeat.
He’ll be a problem. I can feel it in my bones.
But that’s a problem for tomorrow.
When we’re finally alone, Karax’s hand slides from my back to my waist, pulling me against him.
“You did well,” he murmurs.
“I was terrified.”
“It didn’t show.” He tilts my chin up, making me meet his golden eyes. “You belonged up there, Hannah. At my side.”
“We’re trying,” I remind him. “That’s all we said. We’re trying.”
“We’re trying,” he agrees. A smile tugs at his mouth. “And you’re already better at it than I expected.”
“Low bar.”
“Very low.” He kisses me—brief, warm, promising more. “Now let me take you to our chambers. I think we’ve both earned some rest.”
Ourchambers. Not his anymore. Ours.
It’s a small thing, but it matters.
“Is rest really what you have in mind?” I ask.
His answering growl rumbles through his chest, and I feel it vibrate against my body. “Eventually.”
He scoops me up like I weigh nothing and carries me through the halls of Stone Court—past servants who pretend not to stare, past guards who definitely do stare, past the crystal formations that pulse with his satisfied power.
I let myself relax into his arms and think about what comes next.
The council meeting tomorrow. The reforms we need to propose. The resistance we’ll face from Greymun and his allies. The long, slow work of changing a system that’s been grinding humans down for millennia.
It won’t be easy. Nothing about this will be easy. We’re trying to be partners, and he’ll slip back into old patterns, and I’ll have to call him on it, and we’ll fight, and we’ll fail, and we’ll try again.
But for the first time since I walked into Stone Court, I feel like I might actually have a chance.
Not to fix everything. Not to make it perfect. Just to make it better. One council meeting at a time. One reform at a time. One day at a time.
And that’s enough.
For now, that’s enough.Chapter 28: Hannah
Three weeks after we return to Stone Court, my heat comes back.
I wake in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, my skin burning, that familiar hollow ache pulsing between my thighs. But this time, I don’t fight it. This time, I roll over and press myself against the massive body beside me.
“Karax.”
