Alora swallowed hard.
Zinnia’s fingers tightened. “And Alora—under no circumstance let your blood touch the mantle.” Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper. “Not unless you wish to wake what should have remained sleeping since the dawn of the First Age.”
The bond hummed like a taut string between her ribs. She lifted her eyes toward the open doorway. Rune was watching her. His gaze held hers through the shadows of the threshold.
She wasn’t sure if Rune could hear her thoughts or what Lady Zinnia had said. But the way his gaze lingered, dark and unreadable, he had heard enough.
Caelum’s jaw clenched. “Then we should not go at all. Whatever dwells at the ruins—whatever made you—” He shook his head, voice tightening. “It is not a force to reckon with.”
Alora ignored the tremor in his tone. She tied her satchel closed and slung it across her shoulders. “You’re not coming.”
She headed for the door.
Caelum followed. “Alora?—”
She rounded on him, voice low and firm. “Caelum, I told you to run. Stop worrying about me.”
Alora stepped outside, marching down the path. Nexus strutted beside her with a soft meow.
Caelum caught her hand. “Forgive me, princess. I couldn’t leave?—”
“Queen.”Rune’s low growl cut through the morning like thunder rolling over stone.
He stood now, rising slow and deliberate, shadows trembling around him despite their desertion. His gaze burned as he crossed the space and took Alora’s arm, pulling her free from Caelum’s grasp. He moved with the quiet certainty of a predator reclaiming what was his.
“You stand before myQueen of Shadows,” he rumbled with lethal clarity. “Know that you still breathe because I allow it. Touch her again, and the gods will not find enough pieces of you to bury.”
Caelum didn’t flinch. “She cannot be your true queen when she’s a stolen bride,” he said evenly, canting his head. “I was there when you took her, demon. I couldn’t stop you then, butnow…” His eyes raked over Rune’s mortal form. “I’d wager you’d be much easier to kill.”
“Caelum,” Alora hissed under her breath.
So much for trying to keep him alive.
Rune’s lips curved. A silent, deadly promise. His dark chuckle made her skin prickle. The axe in his hand gleamed dangerously as he flexed his grip and Caelum reached for his sword.
She could see it for a moment, the knight challenging the dragon.
If they fought, blood would surely spill and she knew whose.
“Rune,” she sighed tiredly.He is a citizen of Argyle. Your first promise to me was never to harm my people, if you recall. That makes him untouchable.
His gaze slid to her, sharp and assessing from the corner of his eye.Why do you continue to protect this one?
It’s beneath you to threaten someone weaker than you.
Or is it that you would rather not see me behead the man you love.
Her pulse pounded beneath Rune’s stare. Something more than anger coiled in the bond, something raw, territorial, and unmistakable.
Jealousy.
The fact that he would feel something so amusingly human made her anger soften. She stepped closer, taking his hand. His fingers curled around hers instinctively. Instead of cold shadow, warmth traveled from his skin into her palm, a gentle warmth she wasn’t used to.
I did love him,she admitted.Once.
Alora didn’t know what was in her heart now. But whatever he saw in her eyes made the tension in his shoulders ease enough for the air to settle.
She wove their fingers together. “Come. We have a long journey ahead.”
