We rush through the corridors, her grip tight on my hand. Servants press against walls to let us pass, their confused expressions following our wake. But Astra doesn’t slow down, doesn’t care who sees the Queen practically running through the palace.
As we round the corner toward Lucian’s study, I glance out the tall windows overlooking the gardens.
My heart stops.
Zane is there, standing near the rose bushes, perfectly still among the blooms. But it’s not his stillness that freezes my blood—it’s the way he’s positioned. Angled directly toward this window. Toward me.
His dark eyes lock onto mine with the precision of a predator who has been waiting. Who knew exactly where I’d be. And when.
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. Just stares with an intensity that makes my wolf recoil in instinctive terror.
Then, he smiles.
It’s not the warm, charming version he’s been showing me for weeks. This smile is cold. Calculated. The smile of someone who has been playing a game and is now revealing the fact that he’s been winning all along.
His lips move, forming words I can’t hear through the glass. But I can read them clearly.
I see you.
My breath catches in my throat. Ice floods my veins.
He lifts one hand in a slow, deliberate wave. The gesture is casual, friendly even. But paired with that smile, with those eyes that promise something dark and inevitable, it’s a threat. A promise.
I know what you’ve been doing. I know you’re lying to me.
I blink—just once, just for a fraction of a second—andthen, he’s gone.
Not walking away. Not disappearing behind hedges. Just…gone. Like he was never there at all. Like I imagined the whole thing.
But the phantom coldness of his stare still burns my skin.
My legs buckle. I catch myself against the wall, my vision swimming, my heart hammering so hard, I can feel it in my throat.
“Selene?” Astra’s hand steadies me, concern flooding her voice. “What’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet.”
I open my mouth to tell her. The words are right there—I just saw Zane, he was watching us, he knows something’s wrong, we’re in danger.
But then, I see her face. That radiant joy, the pure happiness glowing in her eyes like sunlight breaking through clouds. She’s carrying new life. She deserves this moment of perfect, untainted bliss.
I can’t ruin it. Not with my paranoia. Not when I might have imagined it. Not when telling her would mean guards flooding the gardens and Lucian locking her away in fear.
She deserves better than that.
“Nothing.” I force a smile, pushing off the wall even though my hands are shaking. “Just got dizzy for a second. I’m fine.”
Her brow furrows worriedly, but before she can press me, I take her hand and pull her forward. “Come on. Lucian’s waiting.”
We’re off again, but my eyes keep darting to windows, to shadowed corners, to doorways and alcoves—anywhere Zane might appear. Anywhere he might be, watching.
My wolf paces frantically, whining, sensing my fear but unable to pinpoint the source. Every shadow looks wrong. Every reflection in the polished marble could be him.
He was there. He saw me. He knows.
The mate bond with Seth thrums anxiously in my chest, like it knows something’s wrong. Like it’s trying to call him to me. I press my hand over my heart, trying to calm the frantic beating, trying to focus on getting Astra safely to Lucian.
Just a few more steps. Just get her to her mate, where she’ll beprotected. Where guards and power and the strength of the King himself will keep her safe.
The study doors loom ahead, and I’ve never been so grateful to see them. But even as we reach them, even as Astra knocks with barely contained excitement, I can feel eyes on my back.
