I had made a choice.
Not the claim. That room, that desk, Dominic on his knees, my hand in his hair, and the warmth still in my body.
Soon
Catalina
The council granted Rhain’s first access window the following morning. He was given three hours.
Unsupervised, technically.
The council had argued about thetechnicallyfor three days. Rhain’s delegation had argued back. It had eventually been granted on the condition thatunsuperviseddidn’t include access to my quarters.
Dragon law loved a distinction.
I respected that.
Rhain arrived at ten on Saturday morning wearing an olive coat that made him look younger. My heart gave one bright, traitorous thud. Apparently some part of me had been waiting for him.
“Catalina.”
“Rhain.”
His eyes moved over my face, then the mark at the left of my throat, then back to my eyes. He noticed the sleep I hadn’t been getting. “You’re well?”
“It depends on your definition.”
He smiled lightly, then inclined his head toward the corridor. “Walk with me.”
I walked with him.
The public corridors had been cleared for the access window. Two enforcers followed at the mandated distance. Dominic wasn’t one of them.
The bond told me he was below us, prowling and very aware. Every step I took beside Rhain moved across the line under my ribs like a finger drawn over a bruise.
I didn’t mention it. Rhain did. “He can feel this.”
“Yes.”
“How clearly?”
“Not clearly enough to hear us. Clearly enough to hate it.”
Rhain’s eyes crinkled in small delight.
He walked with his hands in his coat pockets. Trained-household casual. He had been taught not to fidget by an entire family.
Rhain fell silent beside me.
His shoulders pulled back once, then settled. His jaw tightened and released. He kept his gaze ahead for three more steps, like he was choosing the exact place to put the next sentence.
When he finally turned back to me, the polish was still there. But the ease wasn’t. “Catalina.”
“Yes.”
“I need to tell you something about my father, and I need you to understand that I’m not telling you to maneuver you.”
I nodded once and let him have the silence.
