ra

ymore. I walked on my own, flanked by Lycan guards who moved like living shadows. Quiet, alert, controlled. Every boot struck the ground

a prisoner either. I existed in a narrow space between ac

e forest itself was holding its breath. The air pressed cold and sharp against my lungs, carrying iron, frost, and something wild th

was a mercy. By the time the road ended, my legs burned, my

wall of black stone cut into the horizon, so tall it seemed grown from the earth itself. N

hains from my ankles, another removed the wrist restraints. The

alone from he

led, but I nodded. The gates swung wider. I stepped ins

kered along the walls, pale flames casting light that never fully chased the darkness. The floor

Not warm, not welcomin

on a raised pl

Kael

a twitch. Not a flicker. Not even a g

nce he carried pressed into the hall, heavy, unyielding, like gravity m

g against my ribs, frantic and exposed. I stopped a few feet from the p

d like it might

hey did not roam my body. They did not burn

ght to me," he

Even. It carried effortles

voice sounding small i

asked if you w

N

matter-of-fact, like I was nothing more t

es

m resting on the throne as thou

this makes you

isted low i

eg," I said quietly

. No surprise. Interest. Calc

he said. "To negotiate t

," I replied. "Le

g enough for my chest

y," Kael said slowly, "i

bled, but I did not bow. I waited. For chains. For a cla

ever

w," Kael said. "There will be

No vows. No spec

rooms," he added.

elt strange, foreign,

ot be harme

, voice cat

s property. Not as prey. But as someone ha

mine," he said, "

ightened

ontinued. "Not today. Not to

as told I don't get to

ay," he replied. "When t

e fell

Not truly. A different kind of cage.

ye

armth, small, unfamiliar, alive. I pressed m

e sharpene

el it,"

derstand,"

ed, something that remembered, something that had survived. Not like th

ted, thickening, creeping closer. A

oug

uthority, not anger. Th

owly, stopping several feet fro

repeat itself witho

with it came something sharp

tly. Hope had alrea

g to me?" I asked

ment. "Something," he said fi

al. Command. "Take her

diately, guiding me t

ribs flared, stronger now, answer

itched. My

e. Awake. Responding to... a

felt a warning: the King did not b