He stills, lips parted slightly in surprise. But he doesn’t move.
I don’t retreat. I don’t stand down. Because the words feel right on my tongue. I won’t spend another day withholding my heart for fear it’ll break. The risk of it breaking is how I know thisislove.
I’m tired of preserving myself, locking myself away in a fortress of rage and distrust.
I refuse. I fucking refuse to live in a world where I hold back my heart—not when life is so fragile. Not when so much is at stake. Not when it could all be taken from me tomorrow.Today.
Because if I’m going to lead an uprising into a battle we can’t win, I’ll need to do it with my whole fucking heart.
The weight of it all feels different today—heavier, not with burden, but with purpose. With the knowing that power and love are no longer things I’ll separate to keep myself from being devoured by either one.
Because I’ve found both, and the realms will tremble in the face of them.
Kael closes his eyes, as if he’s savoring my words, and the tether hums with contentment.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that, Duskae,” he breathes with his eyes still closed, his voice like silk.
I cross the room before he can open his eyes, my boots whispering against the marble, and sit on the edge of the bed. For a moment I just look at him—at the man who’s held my fury, my silence, my sharp edges, my frayed heart, and never once turned away. He rubs at his eyes, emotion welling there, but I don’t let him speak. Not yet.
“I owe you something, Kael,” I say quietly, my fingers brushing his temple, then trailing down to rest against his chest. “An apology.”
His eyes open then, blue as a storm-tossed sea. He doesn’t speak. Just watches me like he’s afraid to break the moment.
“I’ve kept you at arm’s length,” I whisper, my throat tightening. “I’ve locked myself behind walls I’d built to protect myself, despite you never being the cause for those walls. I’ve let you make sacrifices for me. I’ve asked you to repent far beyond necessity. I’ve hurt you because I was hurting, and I knew why you did what you did, even when I swore I didn’t. And still… you stayed.” My voice cracks. “I’m sorry, Kael. Truly. For every time I made you fight me instead of the war.”
His hand rises, slow and careful, to cover mine against his chest. His heartbeat is steady under my palm. “Duskae…” he murmurs, but I shake my head.
“No. Let me finish.” I lean closer until my forehead touches his. “I can’t promise not to be afraid. I can’t promise I won’t still break. But I won’t shut you out anymore. Not in this fight. Not in this life. Not in my heart.”
For a heartbeat, the only sound is his breath. Then his thumb sweeps over the back of my hand, and his voice comes low and rough. “Love would not be love without the risk of ruin. And still, here we are.”
I close my eyes, breathing him in. “Here we are,” I echo.
“From now…” he breathes, eyes locked on mine.
“... until the Stars claim me,” I finish, and for once, I let myself escape into him. My body collapses into his chest, and his hand finds the back of my neck, steady and grounding. But something flickers in his eyes—hesitation, weight.
“Elyssara,” he murmurs, the word half a plea. “Gods, I don’t want to ruin this moment, but there’s something you should know. About the fifth relic.”
My breath catches, and realization hits me instantly. “You know what it is,” I say, and it’s not a question.
He nods once, slow. “I do. But I can’t tell you. Not yet.”
The tether hums, restless with the pressure of what lies unsaid.Ofwhy he can’t tell me.
“You need to trust me,” he says softly, voice raw. “Just a little longer.”
A test.
The old me would have demanded answers, clawed at the truth until I bled for it, until I’d gouged a hole in it.
But I look at him—the man who’s risked everything, the man who’s stayed, the man I nearly lost—and I exhale.
“Then I’ll trust you,” I whisper, because I know this is how it has to be—trust does not come with guarantees. Yet fear still prowls at the edges of trust, and I breathe, “Please don’t break my heart, Kael Thorne.”
His hand tightens in my hair, relief and love and sorrow braided in one. “Never, Duskae. Not for all the Stars in the sky.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
