Marina’s gaze flickered between her and Rykan, calculation replacing rage. She was beaten and she knew it—but Ember could see her filing this moment away, storing it for future reference. She would never stop trying to regain power.
“Fine.” The word was poison wrapped in silk. “I’ll take your exile. Your mining colony. Your generous mercy.” She straightened her spine, gathering the shreds of her dignity. “But remember this, niece. You may have won today, but empires are built over decades. And I am very, very patient.”
“I’m counting on it.” She met her aunt’s gaze steadily. “The facility on Kepler has genuine potential. If you put half the energy into developing it that you put into trying to steal what wasn’t yours, you could build something remarkable.”
Marina laughed bitterly. “You actually believe that. How precious.”
She turned and walked towards the door, pausing beside Tomas. The elderly servant met her gaze without flinching.
“I always knew you were loyal to him first,” Marina said softly. “To Alexander. Then to her. Never to me.”
“You never gave me reason to be, my lady.”
Something flickered across Marina’s face—regret, perhaps, or simply the acknowledgment of a miscalculation. Then she wasgone, the security officers falling into step beside her, and the door slid shut behind them.
The silence that followed was deafening.
She stood motionless for a long moment, staring at the closed door. Then, without warning, her knees buckled.
Rykan caught her before she hit the floor, his arms strong and steady as they wrapped around her trembling body. He guided her to the small couch tucked into the corner of the office and sat with her cradled against his chest.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured into her hair. “I’ve got you.”
She pressed her face into the solid warmth of his shoulder and let the shaking take her. Not tears—she was beyond tears—but the deep, bone-rattling tremors of adrenaline finally releasing its hold.
“She tried to kill me.” The words came out muffled against his shirt. “My own aunt. My father’s sister. She tried to burn me alive and she called it ‘not personal.’”
His arms tightened around her. “She’ll never get close to you again. I’ll make certain of it.”
“I know.” She drew a shuddering breath. “I know you will.”
They sat together in the quiet office, the smart glass still opaque, the city beyond invisible. She focused on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her ear, letting it anchor her to the present moment.
“I wasn’t sure I could do it,” she finally admitted. “Face her. Confront her with what I knew. Part of me kept hoping she would deny it. That maybe I’d made a mistake.”
“You didn’t make a mistake.”
“No.” She pulled back enough to look at him, finding strength in the fierce protectiveness of his golden gaze. “I didn’t. And I survived. Because of you.”
His hand came up to cup her face, thumb brushing gently across her cheekbone. “You survived because you’re stronger than she ever gave you credit for. Stronger than anyone gave you credit for.” A pause. “Including yourself.”
Maybe,she thought.Maybe I am.
She leaned into his touch, drawing comfort from the simple contact. “It’s not over. You heard what she said—she’s patient. She’ll spend her years on that mining colony plotting her return.”
“Then we’ll be ready for her,” he said firmly. “We’ll watch. We’ll prepare. We won’t be caught unaware again.”
We.The word wrapped around her like a promise.
“I should check in with Tomas,” she said reluctantly. “Make sure the shuttle actually departs. Marina’s resourceful—I wouldn’t put it past her to try something even now.”
“In a moment.” He didn’t release her. “Right now, you need to breathe.”
He was right. She hated that he was right, but he was. The trembling was subsiding, replaced by a bone-deep exhaustion that made her limbs feel like they were filled with sand.
“How do you do it?” she asked. “Stay so calm when everything is falling apart?”
“Practice.” His voice was dry. “Years of practice.”
