The promise should terrify me. Instead, it sends liquid fire through my veins. This is what I wanted—not the careful, controlled king who held himself back, but the powerful, possessive male who will fight heaven and hell to keep what’s his.
“Good,” I whisper, pulling his head up so I can look into his eyes. “Because I’m not going anywhere. No matter what they threaten, no matter what they do—I’m staying right here.”
“Jessa.” My name is a prayer on his lips, reverent and desperate. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for. This won’t be a political skirmish—it will be war. Bloody and brutal and?—”
“And I’ll face it beside you,” I interrupt, sealing the promise with a kiss that tastes of determination and defiance. “Because that’s what mates do. That’s what queens do.”
Something breaks in his expression then, some last wall crumbling under the weight of my certainty. When he kisses me again, it’s with the desperate hunger of a man who’s finally stopped fighting what he wants most.
“My queen,” he murmurs against my lips, and the title sends shivers through me. “My fierce,perfectqueen.”
“Your queen,” I agree, and feel the bond between us flare brighter, stronger, more unbreakable than ever. “Now and always.”
We hold each other in the dancing firelight, both of us knowing that everything is about to change. The council has drawn their lines in the sand, made their threats and ultimatums. They expect him to bow to their will, to choose the crown over the woman who’s become his entire world.
They’re about to learn how wrong they are.
Because I’m not just any woman—I’m his mate, marked by winter magic and bonded by forces older than their petty politics. And I’ll be damned if I let a bunch of frightened old fae dictate the terms of our love.
Seventeen days until the Solstice. Seventeen days to prove to them that some bonds are stronger than tradition, some love is worth any price.
CHAPTER 12
AELIN
The Solstice arriveswith all the weight of destiny behind it.
I feel it in my bones as the sun sets on the shortest day of the year, feel the ancient magic stirring in the deepest parts of the winter realm. Tonight, the veil between worlds grows thin, and power flows like wine through the very air. Tonight, the Yulebond will either complete itself or burn us both to ash.
There is no longer any question which it will be.
Jessa stands beside me at the edge of the Sacred Grove, and even in the fading light I can see how she’s changed over these past weeks. Her eyes shine with inner fire, the gold flecks more pronounced now, and the markings that spiral down her arms pulse with soft luminescence. She’s beautiful—not the fragile human beauty I first fell in love with, but something stronger, wilder, more eternal.
My queen. My mate.My salvation.
“Are you ready?” I ask, though I can feel her determination through the bond that hums between us like a live wire.
“I’ve been ready since the night I first saw you on that forest road,” she says, her voice steady despite the magnitude of what we’re about to do. “The question is, are you ready to give up your crown for me?”
The council’s ultimatum still echoes in my mind—choose duty or desire, the realm or the woman. They expect me to arrive at tomorrow’s emergency session broken and compliant, having sacrificed my mate to preserve their version of order.
They’re going to be disappointed.
“I gave up my crown the moment I chose you,” I tell her, taking her hand in mine. “Everything else is just politics.”
She smiles, fierce and radiant, and I feel something settle into place in my chest. For three centuries, I’ve been the perfect king, the dutiful ruler who sacrificed everything for the greater good. Tonight, I reclaim what’s mine.
The grove welcomes us as we step through the ring of ancient stones, the air shimmering with power that makes my skin tingle. This place is older than my bloodline, older than the winter realm itself—a nexus where the deepest magics converge and miracles are born from will and desire.
At the center of the clearing stands the Heart Tree, its silver bark gleaming in the moonlight, its branches heavy with crystalline flowers that bloom only on the Solstice. Beneath its spreading canopy, the snow has melted away, revealing earth that steams with warmth and possibility.
“It’s beautiful,” Jessa breathes, her eyes wide with wonder as she takes in the magical grove. “I can feel it—the power here. It’s incredible.”
“Ancient magic,” I confirm, leading her toward the Heart Tree. “The same force that created the first bonds, that joined the first mates. Tonight, it will make us one.”
We stop before the massive trunk, and I can feel the tree’s consciousness brushing against mine, ancient and patient and infinitely wise. It has witnessed countless claiming rituals, countless bonds forged in passion and sealed with power. Tonight, it will witness ours.
“What do we do?” Jessa asks, her voice hushed with reverence.
