And gods help her… she had liked it.
Something primal, bone-deep, unfurled in her chest when he bowed. The image clung to her mind like a painting: him beneath her, sword lowered, lips parted like a vow sat on his tongue. And in that moment, she’d been his god, his queen.
Her cheeks flushed hot. She grit her teeth.
A vision flashed back in her mind. One woven in silks and starlight where he knelt between thighs and begged for her favor. That dream, he had felt so real. And now, this version had come to pass. She hated that it made her feel so… wanted.
“Fool,” she muttered to herself, dragging her finger along her lip.
When her heart ached next, it wasn’t for Alarik.
It was for Kael.
His sharp beauty. His iron will. The quiet moments in bed when his fingers traced patterns across her skin like he was learning to speak without words. His laughter so rare, so golden when it slipped through.
She’d loved him.
She did love him.
But love did not erase the truth.
He had never seen her as this. Not fully. Not with the weight of what she could become. Even in their most intimate moments, there had always been the sense that he was drawing her closer… but never quite stepping in himself. Like she was valuable, vital, but ultimately, a piece in a grander game. One he meant to win.
The engagement had felt like a claim. The crown he offered was beautiful, but forged of politics and war. Not of choice. Not of her.
And she’d been too afraid to ask him if he believed in her power because she’d known the answer.
He had never said it. Never whispered,You are powerful. You are made to be more.
Not like Alarik did.
Her eyes burned suddenly.
She reached for the bond, the thread of Kael’s emotions that had woven through her heartbeat since the proposal. Since the magic had snapped it into place.
But she was met with nothing.
No fear. No desire. No anger. Not even silence.
Just… absence.
Her blood turned cold.
She reached again, harder now, emotion surging, desperate for even a whisper of his fury or tenderness.
Nothing answered.
No flicker. No pain. No pull.
Just her.
Alone.
Then the words came back to her like a dagger through silk:
“Find your crown.. lose your bonded.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
