"Uh-huh," she says, clearly unconvinced. "The wall-shattering mating completion is purely professional research, then? Know thy enemy in biblical terms and all that?"
"It is complicated," I mutter, knowing how pathetic it sounds.
"It always is with immortal Alphas," she sighs. "Look, Sera, I need to tell you something important. Something I've discovered about fated mate bonds while trying to alter the potion and that you need to?—"
She opens her mouth to continue, but her gaze shifts to something behind me, and her entire form shimmers with alarm.
"Someone is coming," she whispers urgently. "Light Court magic. Omega designation. I have to go—this is not safe. Find me later in your chambers." She vanishes just as footsteps echo down the corridor.
"Sera?"
I freeze at the familiar voice. Slowly, I turn to face my brother, Cassian, rounding the corner with an expression that suggests he's been searching for me. His Light Court ceremonial armor gleams even in the dim corridor lighting.
"Cassian," I breathe, momentarily forgetting everything else. "What are you doing here? I thought you had returned to the Light Court."
"I was assigned to accompany Lady Isla's official mission, which meant returning here sooner than planned," he says, his voice cool in a way I have never heard directed at me before. His eyes immediately find the fresh mark at my throat, and his Alpha scent floods with shock and distress. "I have been meaning to talk to you since I arrived, but I had a few state assignments that kept me busy." His jaw tightens. "Since I have been here, I have heard the rumors. And now I can see the mark. He bit you. You completed the bond."
"Rumors?" I repeat, though the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me exactly what he means.
"About my sister," he says, stepping closer, "and how enthusiastically she's embraced her role as the Shadow Lord's mate. How she begged for his bite. How she screamed for him." His voice drops. "And I heard about the heat. Two days, Sera. Two days locked in his chambers while the entire palace heard you begging for your Alpha."
My face burns with humiliation, but underneath it, anger flares. "You want to talk about the heat, Cassian? Fine."
"The servants are talking," he continues, his voice tight. "About the slick, about the way you screamed his name, about how he barely left your side for two days straight. They're saying you're completely bonded now. That there's no going back."
"Of course there's no going back!" I snap. "The fated bond triggered the heat. The heat required an Alpha's knot or I would have died from fever. Those were my choices—let him knot me, or die screaming. You're an Alpha. You KNOW how this works."
His face pales slightly. "I know, but?—"
"But nothing," I cut him off. "The incomplete bond destabilized my Omega biology. My body forced the issue because it wanted to survive. And the bite?" I touch my throat. "That wasn't about want. That was about not dying from heat fever. The claiming bite regulates the heat, stabilizes the biology. Without it, I could have suffered permanent damage or death."
He's quiet for a moment, his Alpha scent shifting to something like shame. "You're right. I do know how it works." He runs a hand through his hair. "I heard the rumors and I got angry. I wanted someone to blame for this mess."
"So you blamed me," I say flatly.
"I'm sorry," he says, and he sounds genuine. "I don't fully understand what you went through because I've never experienced heat. But I do know about fated bonds, and I know you couldn't have fought it." He looks genuinely distressed. "I was cruel. Forgive me."
Some of the anger drains from me. This is still my brother. My sweet, scholarly brother who's trying to understand.
"I forgive you," I say quietly.
Relief washes over his face. He steps forward, reaching for my hand. "Thank you, Sera. I know this situation is impossible. I know you're doing your best to survive it."
I nod, feeling the tension between us ease.
Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, "Though I do wonder... if Mother were still alive, what would she think?" His voice is gentle, not accusing, but the words hit like a blade. "Seeing you wear his mark. Knowing you're bonded to her killer. Would she understand? Or would it break her heart all over again?"
I freeze. The question cuts deeper than any accusation. Because I've been asking myself the same thing every day since the bite.
"I..." My throat closes. "I don't know."
Cassian seems to realize what he's done. "Sera, I didn't mean?—"
"You should go," I say abruptly, pulling my hand away. Tears are burning behind my eyes and I refuse to let him see them.
"Sera, please?—"
"Just go, Cassian," I repeat, my voice breaking.
