She wasn’t lost in Heat. She wasn’t mindless with need. She was here, fully herself, and everything she felt—every shiver, every pull toward him—belonged to her.
Her voice trembled, but there was no hesitation. “No,” she whispered. “Not anymore.”
Kaelen’s gaze softened, his thumb tracing a slow, reverent line along her jaw. “Good.” His voice was husky, rough at the edges. “Because I never want you to doubt it, Sáel.”
Reiya blinked at the word. “You’ve called me that before. Sáel. What does it mean?”
His hand cupped her cheek, his touch warm. “It’s an Asadian word,” he murmured. “Brightheart. That’s what you are to me—a woman whose fire refuses to be snuffed out.”
Something profound tightened deep in her chest.Brightheart. The name settled over her like a truth that had always existed, waiting for someone to see it, to speak it into being. Not a title tied to duty or bloodline, but something deeper. Something hers.
“I like it,” she murmured.
Kaelen smiled at her, mischief flickering in his eyes. “Alright, but do you like it more than ‘Rei?’”
A startled laugh escaped her, light and spontaneous. She swattedhis arm. “Rei is for my brothers to call me, you knave. I like Sáel much more—it’s ours.”
He said nothing, only leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead before wrapping an arm around her. Without hesitation, Reiya nestled into him, resting her head on his shoulder, letting the silence settle around them.
For a moment, Kaelen was still too, his body warm against her. Then, he dipped his head and pressed a quiet, deliberate kiss to her temple.
“Reiya.”
She looked up, pulse stuttering at the way he watched her. “What is it?”
His thumb skimmed along her jaw, his voice low. “I know the pact unsettles you, and I won’t ask you to accept it—not yet. But can you set it aside, just for a while? Stop fighting what’s already there?” His gaze held hers, unwavering. “For me. For Alarik, too.”
She shifted until their noses nearly touched. How could she explain the pact no longer terrified her the way it once had? That when she thought of them—not just as Alphas, but as Kaelen and Alarik, asmen, she softened instead of bristled?
“I know you want a choice, Sáel.” His voice lowered, a quiet gravity pulling her in. His thumb ghosted over her bottom lip, lingering. He leaned in until their foreheads touched. “But imagine what it’s like to not have to choose at all. Imagine two hearts devoted to you. Two souls bound to yours—wholly, fiercely, without hesitation.”
Slowly, the words settled inside her like an ember waiting to catch flame.
A love that wasn’t divided but doubled.
Before, it had felt like a cage.
Now, she realized—with them, if there was ever a door, it had always been open.
Chapter Thirty-Three
REIYANA
At dawn, while the caravan still slept, Reiya made her way to the bathhouse, drawn by the quiet urgency to see Solmaz one last time before leaving Zohara.
The attendant led her straight to Solmaz’s private study, where the air was thick with jasmine and ink, laced with the faint bitterness of dried herbs. Sunlight streamed through high windows, casting pale beams over shelves lined with scrolls and vials. At her desk, draped in jade-green robes, Solmaz sat poised, absorbed in her reading—composed as ever, a presence commanding attention even in stillness.
At last, Solmaz looked up, her sharp gaze softening. A faint smile curved her lips.
“Yara,” she greeted, setting the scroll aside. “I had hoped you’d come.”
Reiya stepped forward, the weight of parting pressing against her ribs. “I didn’t want to leave without seeing you.”
Solmaz gestured toward a cushion, already reaching for the teapot. “Leaving already,” she mused. “My bathhouse will be quieter without you here.”
Reiya sank onto the cushion, accepting the delicate porcelain cup. “Still, I wanted to thank you.”
“For what? All I did was offer a bit of conversation and a place to rest.”
