Velvet and shadow wrapped the chamber, its canopy steeped in silks the color of midnight. Perfume lingered, jasmine and starflower, sweet as memory. Across from the bed stood a mirror—deliberate, as all things were with Xavien. A room shaped to tempt, to watch,to claim.
“And this…” he whispered at her ear, “is where line Draekenra was forged. Where we’ll carry it forward, love.”
She turned on him, smirk for smirk, and brushed her hand over the coverlet. “Clever. You’ve not even changed the drapes. The air still smells like her.”
He crossed between her and the exit, playful and unrepentant.
“Who needs a bed? I see a bench, a chair. Window ledge, if you’re feeling feisty.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
She shoved past him.
His fingers ghosted her sleeve.
“Careful, Elarien,” he murmured. “I tend to live up to praise.”
She raised her head, defiant.
“Save your praise for the manI love.”
His smile faltered, just for a breath.
A shadow crossed his face.
Then he straightened, nodding toward the door, as if nothing had happened at all. “Come.”
They slipped from his bedroom into the antechamber. The farther door stood ajar, lamplight breathed over onyx and the wide, black basin.
Her breath fell silent.
Xavien touched her shoulders.
“We can wait,” he said, nudging her toward the parlor. “I’ve prepared food, wine… ale. We need leave this chamber for nothing. Some tea perhaps, to settle you?”
Viktor’s voice swept through her memory:
“Dask, Ami—you'll live. Leave cups of tea scattered across Xavien’s tables, enough to drive him mad.”
“No,” she murmured back. “I’m ready.”
He bowed his head and led her forward.
Amerei stopped on the threshold.
The marble floor gleamed spotless, but she could still feel Deglan there—blood pooling, the slap of his body against stone. The robe went colder on her skin.
Xavien read it in a heartbeat.
“Don’t look at the room,” he said softly. “Look at me.”
“Look at me, love. Only me.”
She did—and the difference split her chest.
One vow burned. This one begged.
Mischief loosened Xavien’s mouth. He tipped his head toward the basin.
