“If I must damn my name, damn my line, I will do it. I will keep you safe.”
“Amerei—” Jasmine tried, but Evander cut her off.
“She is the Queen of Casqadia,” he said, voice raging. “To tempt her with such talk is treason—”
“Remove them.”
Xavien’s command cut cold.
His gaze snapped to the guards.
“By Sevrak’s decree, her protection is mine. And I will see it done.”
Amerei did not look at them.
She folded into Xavien, sobs wrecking her chest.
The guards obeyed.
Silence sealed the chamber.
Xavien shifted, pulling her fully into his arms as if she were breakable, irreplaceable. One hand anchored her waist, the other cupped her jaw, brushing where tears had fallen. He bent until his brow hovered against hers, breath mingling with her broken cries.
Her fists pushed weakly once at his chest. He held her tighter, refusing to let go, as if his body alone could stand against ruin.
His mouth found the edge of hers—too close for innocence, too desperate for shame.
“While I breathe…”
His vow burned against her skin.
“…you will not be alone.”
Chapter One Hundred Eight
Death Is a Door
He fell in fire and rose as storm.
Darkness.
Cold.
His soul sank beneath an icy shadow.
Viktor gasped—
and no breath came.
No lungs.
No body.
Only fire still pulsing through the stone in his fist.
Above him, a seam tore in the veil.
Light bled across the dark, already narrowing.
