I knelt between his boots and nudged his legs apart, settling close enough to feel his warmth. Stubble rasped against my palms as I cupped his face, the coarse texture betraying sleepless nights and endless strain. “You are not foolish.”
“I am in love.” He chuckled, the sound dark and haunted. “A far worse fate. I would burn the world for you. Gods, I wouldsacrifice every soul in Radaan, slaughter every Velli on this continent. I would do all of that and so much more just to keep you breathing.”
He would surrender his goodness. The core of him. Deep down, perhaps that’s what scared him the most. His love for me demanded selfishness, lust, desire. He had spent a lifetime fighting for others, and now he would risk the reputation he built—all for me.
I had no doubt that if something happened to me, he would snap. Vellos would tremble beneath his wrath. There would be a reckoning that would shake the very foundation of the world.
But it wasn’t anger or fury in his eyes.
It was terror.
He was afraid of losing me.
“Kallias, I am Queen of Radaan.” My thumb traced the shape of his mouth. “I carry the heir to the mantle. You insist I was born for this—then let me prove it. If something happens to you, trust that I won’t lose my head. Someone must rule Radaan. And by the gods and dragons, it will not be Tallon.”
His hand closed around my wrist, pressing my palm to his cheek. Pain carved lines beside his eyes. Uncertainty lay bare between us. This balance was new—his love that wanted me close by his side, but also far enough away to be safe.
It was messy.
But it was ours.
“At my word, you run for the plains and call your dragons.” The command tore from his throat. “Whatever unfolds, if I say go, you go.”
The image struck like ice. Could I leave him in an ambush? If he fell? I carried Radaan’s future. Our child. A secret woven between us. Protection had to outweigh desire.
“You have my word.” My lips curled into a faltering smile as the gravity of the statement weighed on my soul.
His shoulders dropped. A long breath escaped him as he closed his eyes, absorbing the oath.
“It will be–”
He surged forward and captured my mouth before I finished, as though my unfinished sentence might curse him. His hands slid to cradle my head, fingers threading into my hair, gripping tight enough to sting.
I yielded, letting him claim me, use me. He drew me closer until I pressed against his chest. One hand fell to the chains of my mantle, giving it a soft tug as he deepened the kiss. A reminder of my station. I wasn’t just a woman. I was a queen.
It was almost like warning and devotion intertwined:Remember who you are. Remember what rests on your shoulders.
His palm traveled up the column of my throat, guiding my head as his tongue claimed my mouth. Heat flooded me, and I moaned into his embrace. My pulse beat against his touch. Firm, controlled, yet offering choice. I could follow him—or resist. He would give me space to pull away if I wanted, or let me guide this…
Instead, my fingers dug into his thighs, sliding over the taut fabric of his trousers.
His grip tightened.
A plea.
Let him lead.
He had bent for me, compromised with my request despite everything within him screaming not to. Now, he needed to give the orders.
My quiet breath escaped against his lips, surrender woven into it. Approval rumbled from his chest as he drew me fully into him.
Need consumed us. Urgent. Raw. Not only flesh seeking flesh but something deeper, older. On that narrow cot, at the heart ofour camp, we joined more than bodies—our souls became one. Each touch asked a question, and every hushed gasp answered.
I’d always been a woman. Now? A queen.
Kallias had always been a king. But in my arms, he was a man.
That night, we learned each other without words.
