Fucking gods.
“Or that you were not allowed to process your grief through violence and just generally being a fucking asshole?” she waves a dismissive hand in Jax’s face.
But her gaze pins Kael like a target. “Or that you were not allowed to shoulder the burden of a broken realm? Thatyouwere not allowed to protect that which you hold most dear?”
Her words suspend mid-air, as if the room needs more time to absorb them.
“I broke a man’s neck with a noose of Threads. I united our people to bring down the Decay. I called on the tribes for support. I am not delicate, or brittle. I will not break underpressure. That is where I will be forged! Can you all honestly look me in the eye and tell me you have notbecome yourselvesthrough hardship?”
Her chest heaves.
Her heart beats with power.
But no one says a word, because the truth looks down on them with disdain, stripping away every excuse they’ve ever used.
“I didn’t think so,” she says victoriously, but her hand trembles with the weight of what she’s fighting for.
“Ah yes, I did hear about the… neck incident. Quite creative means, I will concede,” Elandor says, trying to cut through the tension.
But the room ignores him.
Teddy stands, eyes pinning Seren in place.
“I’ll accompany you,” he declares boldly.
Of course he will—loyalty, even when it costs him. Before anyone argues, he adds, “If the witches are real, we need them to remove the spell on the Melders. We need them to restore the gods. It’s a worthy mission. We’ll find Lara. Or the witches. Or perhaps both at the same time.”
The sconces gutter, the only movement in the room.
One heartbeat passes.
Two.
Three.
Then… Kael nods, conceding.
Because if there’s one thing he’s starting to understand, it’s that protection shatters the moment love demands distance.
And sometimes, the only way to love someone is to let them go, and live with what that does to you.
CHAPTER SIX
Beware the hearts the Stars entwine
Fate loves to sever sacred ties
Elyssara feelsit before anyone else does. The way the air around him feels…wrong.
This is more than grief. More than warring realms. More than the pressure of the crown. She knows him—knows the feel of his rightness. Andthisisn’tthat. Like something essential has shifted—and she wasn’t there when it did.
Her eyes notice the faint darkening beneath Kael’s skin, slithering through the veins on his hand like a serpent.
For half a heartbeat, their eyes lock. But he snaps his gaze away, curling his fist tight.
She reaches for him through the tether but again, she’s met with a cold, hollow void.
My love, where are you? Let me in.
