“As Seren said, I like to drink and fuck the pain away, Kael. So, unless you’re going to top up my drink or find me someone to fuck, get out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
KAEL
The crackleof the fire soothes me—a sound of home that never fades, no matter how long I’m away from Thornewood. Soldiers play cards, rabbits roast over flame, ale clinks in tankards. But the peace feels like a lie—a fragile illusion we’ve built to keep from admitting the truth.
The truth is that Zerynthia is surrounded by continents that haven’t wanted us to rise for centuries. A nation rich in zarethite, gems and threvenar controls wealth—and they don’t want that. It’s always the same; men in castles controlling the realms at the cost of the people.
Other kingdoms need The Decay and the Marked curse to stay standing. It keeps us small and vulnerable. And if we rise? We’re powerful, prosperous and peaceful. Other kingdoms resent a nation built on peace and rich in resources—coin can’t be made from it. No. Rulers don’t want peace, they want profit. And nothing fattens a treasury like frightened people made to bow, bleed, and pay for their own oppression.
We are months, days, maybe heartbeats away from war if we can’t reclaim The Wastes. If I can’t get back on the throne. If we can’t take down Maldrak and The Decay. Thalmyr wantsthrevenar, and at this stage, we have no idea if Nymeris and Caeloria will side with us.
But I do know one thing: every kingdom wants Elyssara.
I tip my head back, silently begging the Stars for answers, for assurance. But all that stares back at me is the Crimson Hydra constellation. Babies born tonight will be Bloodbonds. Not a result of hard work, choice, or reason—just luck. This was the first fracture—when the Stars chose their favored children, leaving the rest Earthbound. The second fracture? Humans did that. We created the division by assuming the Stars decided who would rule and who would bow.
That’s not how it’s meant to be.
I exhale a sharp sigh. “Fuck,” I breathe.
A hard object collides with my chest. “Have a fucking drink instead, brother. The Stars don’t speak back, so there’s no point looking to them for answers.” Therion steps over the log I’m sitting on, and I wrap my hand around the tankard pressing into my chest.
I hold it up in gratitude, and take a long pull of poorly distilled ale that burns all the way down. But I’d drink anything that promised to chase away my heaviness.
He’s freshly bathed, wearing a tunic of deep navy that blends into the night. “Well, you survived seeing Elyssara?” he asks with a smirk, but I don’t return it. I can’t—not while she’s still hurting.
“Barely,” I murmur. “She needs… something she won’t let me give her,” I venture, knowing that what I’m about to ask can’t be unspoken.
Therion lifts his gaze to mine, eyeing me warily. “Which is?”
“She needs distraction,” I start, but the words scrape coming out. “Something that isn’t me. Something that makes her forget.”
He studies me, waiting for what I won’t say.
“You mean?—”
“Pleasure. A night without ghosts.” My voice cracks on the last word. “She won’t let me near her. They used my face to break her—now she can’t even look at me.”
Therion stares, the shock raw in his eyes. “You want me to bed your Starbound?”
“I want her to feel alive again,” I rasp. “Even if it’s not with me.”
The words land between us like a knife’s edge.
I know what I’m asking. The thought of someone else touching her makes bile rise in my throat. But I know she needs it to help her feel something other than pain, betrayal.
He lets out a long exhale, raking his hands through his sandy hair. He guzzles some ale, and sucks his teeth at the burn. “If you think another man between her legs is the answer, you’re a bigger fool than I thought,” he scoffs, disbelieving.
“I want her healed more than I want her for myself,” I breathe, and it fucking hurts to say it.
Therion claps me on the back, understanding. “Even if she’d let me, I couldn’t.”
Rage flickers to life in my chest, sharp and hot. “You’d deny her after everything she’s been through?”
He looks at me, searing through my rage with his compassion. “It’s not about denying Elyssara—it’s about knowing what she needs, brother, and that’s a man who loves her and won’t fucking leave.” His words gut me, because he’s right. “And, Kael? I couldn’t do it to Seren. We have… something.”
I release a long exhale.I knew that.I nod slowly, understanding.
