I stared up at him, seeing the weight he’d been carrying all this time. No wonder he’d been so torn. It wasn’t just about duty or disappointing his father… it was about the survival of his entire people.
“If what you say is true,” Confiance said carefully, “then why would your father threaten to seal the realm? That would only accelerate its decline.”
“Because he’s desperate,” Silver replied, and I heard the pain in his voice. “He’s been watching our realm slowly die for centuries, and he’s terrified. The threats, the posturing—it’s all a bluff. He can’t afford to seal the realm. We need trade with the mortal world, need the resources and magic that flow between realms. Cutting ourselves off would be suicide, but my father is too proud to admit that. He wants to protect his people, but he doesn’t realize that it’s his actions that are killing them. He’s clinging to a possibility that no longer exists.”
“You’re asking us to call your father’s bluff,” the ember-eyed witch said. “That’s a dangerous gamble, Prince Erestolal.”
“I know.” Silver’s hand trembled slightly in mine, but his voice stayed steady. “But I also know my father. He loves our people more than anything—more than his pride, more than tradition, more than me. If you can give him arealsolution to the problems his people face, then he will listen.”
I felt my heart clench at those words. Silver was betting everything on his father’s love for his people. But what if he was wrong? The only thing I knew about that king was that he was determined and stubborn and terrifying. I didn’t know him to be a thoughtful or caring man. I hoped I was wrong.
“There has to be a way the Elder Council can help the Twilight Realm,” I added, showing support to my mate. “Surely a realm in desperate need is a worthy cause for you to rally behind.”
“A worthy cause, perhaps,” the vampire said, his fingers steepling beneath his chin. “But the Elder Council does not simply distribute aid. There would need to be... negotiations. Agreements. The Twilight Realm would need to open itself to Council oversight.”
I felt Silver tense beside me. I knew what that meant for his father—admitting weakness, allowing outsiders into his carefully controlled realm. It would be a humiliation.
“My father would never agree to that,” Silver said quietly. “Not while he thinks he still has options.”
“Then we’re back where we started,” the dragon-scaled Elder said, her voice tinged with frustration. “Your father demands the severance, threatens isolation if we refuse, and you ask us to call a bluff that could result in the deaths of thousands.”
The weight of her words settled over me like a shroud. This wasn’t just about me and Silver anymore. It never really had been. Entire realms hung in the balance, and I was just a cursed shadow witch caught in the middle of it all.
“There is another option,” Confiance said suddenly. All eyes turned to her. “One that might satisfy all parties involved.”
I felt hope flare in my chest, even as Silver’s grip on my hand tightened almost painfully.
“What option?” I asked, not caring that I was interrupting an Elder.
Confiance’s green eyes met mine, and I saw something calculating in their depths. “What if the mate bond wasn’t the problem? What if it was the solution?”
“Explain,” the vampire commanded.
“Shadow walkers are exceedingly rare,” Confiance said, rising from her position beside us to address the full Council. “They can move between realms freely, unhindered by barriers or wards. Mr. Vale has already proven he can breach even the strongest protections, including Widdershins’ defenses and, I suspect, the Twilight Realm’s barriers as well.”
I felt my stomach drop. Where was she going with this?
“The Twilight Realm’s greatest weakness is its isolation,” she continued. “The barriers that protect it also trap it, requiring enormous amounts of energy to maintain.”
“Where are you going with this, Confiance?” the dragon elder asked. “Out with it.”
Confiance turned to me. “Mr. Vale, if willing, could be a much more beneficial mate than any political alliance the Twilight Realm could produce.” She paused, her eyes glimmering. “He could serve as an ambassador to the other realms and the Elder Council.”
I felt my jaw go slack as her words sank in. An ambassador? Me? The cursed shadow witch from a shunned family who could barely control his magic a few months ago?
“You can’t be serious,” I said, my voice coming out strangled.
“I’m quite serious.” Confiance’s expression remained calm, almost serene. “The Twilight Realm needs resources, tradeagreements, and magical support that only cross-realm cooperation can provide. But King Erestolal’s isolationist policies have made such cooperation nearly impossible. An ambassador who could move freely between realms, who was bound by mate bond to the royal heir, would be the perfect bridge.”
“But I’m nobody,” I protested, even as Silver’s hand squeezed mine supportively. “My family name is tainted. We have no standing, no influence. Why would anyone listen to me?”
“Because you would speak with the authority of the Twilight Realm’s crown,” the vampire Elder said, leaning forward with sudden interest. “And because your unique abilities make you invaluable. A shadow walker who could facilitate trade, carry messages, negotiate treaties without the need for expensive portal magic or dangerous border crossings and with undying loyalty to the crown...”
“It would solve multiple problems simultaneously,” the ember-eyed witch added. “The Twilight Realm would gain the support it needs without having to submit to Council oversight. King Erestolal could save face by claiming the arrangement was his idea all along. And the mate bond would become an asset rather than a liability. And, if it helps feed the people, I doubt an uprising would occur should the arranged marriage be cancelled. People would much rather eat than form political alliances.”
I looked up at Silver, searching his face for some sign of what he thought. Through our bond, I felt a complex tangle of emotions—hope, fear, excitement, and something that felt like pride.
“What do you think?” I whispered.
