He stepped toward it, then paused.
Just for tonight. He would let her sleep. Let her dream.
But tomorrow?
He would stop pretending there was no choice to be made. Because the court was circling. The gods had begun to whisper. And the girl he had stolen from Eryndor was no longer just a human curiosity.
She was becoming something else.
Something that might change everything. And Kael had no intention of letting her go.
At his back Calyrix Castle loomed like a shadow-cloaked god above the capital of Nythra, but the city below was its lifeblood. Winding streets. Market stalls. Wine-drenched taverns. Quiet temples still loyal to the Gods. He shed his title like a second skin and stepped into the dark, cloaked in illusion and quiet magic. No guards. No fanfare.
The cobbled streets were alive even after nightfall, lit by lanterns that pulsed with a faint blue glow mage-wrought. Folk moved like whispers, merchants, thieves, soldiers with wine-thick voices.
He passed them unnoticed. And listened.
“Did you hear what happened at the castle last night?”
“They say the mortal girl nearly killed Astrielle.”
“She summoned magic without a spell.”
“What is she?”
Kael’s teeth clenched. They spoke her name like a prayer and a curse. And already, the rumors were changing shape. In this version, Maris had blown open a wall with her bare hands. In another, she was Kael’s long-lost mate, brought to him by dark magic.
Fools. But fools who carried information.
He ducked into the shadows near a temple alcove, where three old women sat weaving charms from bone and root.
Their conversation stopped when he approached.
“Evening, stranger,” one croaked, narrowing pale eyes.
Kael didn’t speak.
Just let a sliver of his power slide beneath their skin enough to loosen tongues.
The oldest spoke first.
“Your king stirs the cursed blood. Takes a mortal to his table and lets her spark like a match in kindling.”
“It won’t go unanswered,” said the second. “Calanthe watches. Their seers have seen fire rising in Nythra. And they wonder what burns at its center.”
The third, blind but smiling tilted her head. “Tell your King this: the enemy kingdom doesn’t need to strike just yet. The people will do it for them, if they fear her enough.”
Kael left before his silence gave him away.
He walked the crooked back alleys until the city gave way again to forest and stone. And all the while, the storm churned in his gut. Maris’s power had cracked more than just the air between her and Astrielle. It had cracked his kingdom’s delicate balance. It had cracked him. And worse still, it had lit a beacon that Alarik would see.
Kael could already feel it.
His rival would be watching. And waiting.
-Astrielle-
While Kael returned to his palace of stone and secrets, another figure slipped under shadow. Cloaked in plain traveling furs and with her copper hair hidden beneath a coal-stained hood she was unrecognizable. Astrielle moved quickly as she knew the palace guards by name, as well as, which ones would look the other way for coin.
