“I want to say something,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“Not because of what happened.”
I nodded, the lump in my throat too tight to speak.
“No matter what the crown tries to force on me… no matter who tells me to walk away from you—I won’t.”
His voice cracked slightly. “You are my storm and my anchor. My choice, Ashe. And I will walk beside you until my last breath, whether the world wants us or not.”
I stared at him, my chest aching. I blinked once, twice, then pulled his hand to my heart.
“My turn.”
He waited, still and solemn.
“No matter what blood runs in my veins, no matter what power stirs in me—I will never walk this path without you,” I whispered. “Not because fate says we belong. BecauseIsay we do. And if I have to burn every prophecy and shatter every throne to keep you, I will.”
We didn’t speak for a while after that.
Just held each other.
No magic rose. No glowing sigils. No ancient binding or celestial reaction.
Just our words.
Spoken like a promise carved into the bones of the night.
Oaths not forged in fire, but in love.
Chapter
Eighteen
We sat in that sacred stillness a moment longer, the ocean a heartbeat beneath us, before I turned slightly and rested my chin on Zander’s shoulder.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said softly, as I looked around to ensure nobody was near us.
He glanced at me, the faintest crease between his brows.
“It’s about Siergen.”
His brow lifted. “What about him?”
I hesitated, then breathed it out. “He’s the Unifier.”
Zander blinked once. Then again. “I… what?”
“He is the one who united the dragons after the first war. The reason they still have a leader at all.”
Zander let out a low, disbelieving laugh. “No. That’s not… Siergen used to stay in my room for hours when I was a kid. He used to pretend to fall asleep with me when I had nightmares.” He shook his head. “The Unifier wouldn’t have time for a young prince with a bruised heart.”
I reached for his hand again. “Zander… he loves you. He told me he wished he could’ve been your dragon, but he knew someone else was meant for you.”
His throat worked, but he didn’t speak.
“And he was not happy with Hein earlier. When Hein wanted to incinerate your father for what he did to you… Siergen was very stern with him.”
