“She jumped from the watchtower before he could kill my father or take her.”
Silence followed that.
“My mother spoke often about a prophecy,” I said. “Not the one the rebellion repeats. A different one.”
Thane straightened slightly.
“A hidden omega. A living key. Wards undone. A throne shattered.”
He held my gaze.
“She believed the threat was not that an omega would destroy the world,” I said. “She believed that once an omega’s power was fully realized, certain systems would stop working.”
“Suppression systems,” Thane said quietly.
“Yes.”
I touched the bracer on my wrist without thinking. The mark beneath it remained warm.
“The king didn’t imprison Aveline because she was dangerous,” I said. “He imprisoned her because he could not allow her to choose. Not her bonds. Not her allegiance.”
Thane’s jaw tightened. “She said she wasn’t afraid of us,” he murmured. “She was afraid of what she had been told she would become around alphas.”
“And now the evidence in front of her contradicts that. Not because we are safe men. Because the tower itself is responding differently.”
Thane leaned forward. “You think the tower recognizes potential bond mates.”
“It let us in. It reacted to my touch. It reacted to you. It has sustained her for decades.”
“And she notices everything.”
“She watches closely,” I said. “A person who has spent that long alone learns to do that.”
Thane studied me. “So say it plainly.”
“When she’s ready.”
His expression sharpened slightly.
“She has spent her entire life being controlled,” I continued. “She just endured a spike alone. She believes her touch could kill anyone who comes near her. She is upstairs trying to rebuild herself after that.”
I met his gaze. “I will not be another man who walks in and demands more.”
Thane looked at me for a moment. “That would be new.”
“People change.”
He nodded once.
Above us, the water slowed and stopped. The tower’s hum continued beneath the stone.
“Then we find information,” Thane said.
“And we plan.”
Chapter Nine
AVELINE
