Sin left me here, made me lock the door behind him, gave me a secret knock to know it’s him when he comes back. He said he needed to check something. See if there’s anything we can still do.
We had to come back. The Royal Library is the only place that might hold the answers. I barely even scratched the surface before everything started unraveling.
But my hope is slowly seeping away. We don’t have much time left.
That’s where I am — drowning in those thoughts — when it hits.
A sharp, searing pain knifes through my chest, so brutal and sudden it rips the air from my lungs. It spreads like fire under my skin, wild and vicious, eating me alive from the inside out.
I know this pain. I know it too well. I lived with it for six months.
The bond — it feels betrayed again.
Tears break loose, hot and endless, pouring down my face in silent, gasping waves.
“Kass, I’m here,” Neris whispers, her voice cracked and small. She wraps herself around my mind, trying to shield me from it. It’s no use. Nothing can shield me from this. Nothing can protect us both.
I’m moving before I even realize it. Dragging myself through the hallways, hand scraping the walls for support, chest heaving like I’m trudging through thick smoke.
It’s not enough. No breath is enough. I can’t stop. I have to find him.
People stare — wide-eyed, whispering.
I don’t look at them. I don’t see anything except the next step forward. And the next. And the next.
The moment I shove open the door to Draven’s office, I stumble to a stop, clutching my chest like it might split open.
He’s kissing her.
Not just a brush of lips. Not just a mistake.
He’s holding her. Tight. Like she’s a treasure he’s afraid to lose.
And the worst part — he knows I’m here. He heard the door. But he doesn’t stop.
I watch, frozen, as if trapped inside the worst nightmare of my life. Every second that passes shreds another piece of me.
She’s moving faster than I thought. I’m already too late.
"Draven," I hear myself whisper. It's broken. Raw. The sound bleeds like a deep, open wound.
Finally —finally— he pulls back. Presses one last casual kiss to her lips, like she’s his everything, then he turns his head and looks at me.
"Kassira," he sighs, almost like he's tired. "I was hoping you wouldn’t find out this way."
Amira’s voice cuts the air, a cruel glint travelling through the sound. "You shouldn’t barge into the king’s office without permission," she says, her tone dripping with smugness. "You don’t have a real rank. You need to be announced first. Then the king decides if he even wants to see you."
I don't look at her. She doesn’t matter.
It’s Draven I can’t take my eyes off.
"What are you doing, Draven?" I whisper, barely able to hear myself over the roaring in my ears.
No flicker of doubt in his expression. No flash of warmth. Only that hollow, lifeless void that’s been growing more and more since the funeral.
He straightens, and I know he’s about to completely destroy me.
"I’m choosing a Queen," he says, voice so sharp it could cut diamonds. "Mate or not, Kassira, the truth is you were never strong enough to stand beside me. I was confused for a while — tricked by the bond — but seeing Amira again..."
