KIERAN'S POV:
The moment the heavy doors closed behind her, the entire room seemed to exhale.
But I didn't.
Not yet.
Queen Isolde's perfume still clung to the air—sweet, sharp, invasive. It felt like a ghost's hand brushing my neck, and I pulled the blanket tighter around me, trying to breathe normally.
My pulse was still racing. Not from fear.
From the way I held myself together in front of her.
From the way I felt Ravion just behind me the entire time—silent, watching, guarding.
Ravion shut the last latch on the door and stood there a moment, unmoving. His back was straight, shoulders tense, jaw clenched like he could bite through steel. The shadows at his feet swirled in slow, angry rings.
Only when he was absolutely sure she was gone did he finally turn.
His red eyes locked onto me instantly.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
"Kieran," he said quietly, stepping toward me. "Look at me."
I forced my gaze up. "She's really gone?"
"For now." His voice was low but dangerous—like the rumble before thunder. "But she'll come again. And next time, she won't come alone."
I swallowed hard. "I know. She… she didn't even look at me like a mother."
"Because she's not one." Ravion didn't soften the truth. "She's a queen who sees you as a piece on her board. And she came to evaluate how well you're being… used."
The bitterness in his voice stabbed deeper than any poison could.
I shifted in my chair, but my legs trembled. I hated that weakness. Hated how the poison still clung to my veins like ice.
Ravion saw it instantly.
He was at my side before I could blink.
"Don't move," he ordered softly. "Not when you're still recovering."
He slipped an arm under my knees and another behind my back. With zero effort, he lifted me off the chair and held me against his chest. His warmth sank into my skin, melting the leftover terror from Isolde's presence.
"You don't have to carry me—"
"I will," he cut me off. "Every time."
My breath stuttered. I hated needing help. But gods, being held by him? That was something else entirely.
He carried me to the daybed near the fire, laid me down gently, then sat beside me—so close his knee brushed mine.
The shadows curled lazily around us, protective and warm, like they understood.
I looked at the door again, heart thudding.
"She talked to me like—like I owed her something."
"You don't owe her anything," Ravion said, his voice steady, lethal. "Not loyalty. Not affection. Not fear."
He leaned forward, brushing hair from my forehead with the barest touch. "You owe her nothing."
Something inside me cracked.
Not painfully—relievingly.
"I didn't trust her," I whispered.
"You shouldn't."
"I didn't even trust myself. I kept thinking… what if she sees right through me?"
Ravion's expression hardened. "She sees what she wants to see. That makes her predictable. And predictable means beatable."
That made me laugh—a small, shaky sound. "You make everything sound easy."
"It is easy," he murmured. "When it's about you."
The warmth in his voice made my chest ache in ways I wasn't ready to understand.
"Ravion… she said things that—"
"I heard." His eyes flashed. "And I hated every word."
I looked down at my hands. They were still trembling.
"She thinks our closeness is fake," I whispered.
"She can think whatever she wants." Ravion leaned closer, his breath brushing my cheek. "But you and I know the truth."
My heartbeat skipped, then tripped over itself.
"What truth?"
"That you're mine."
He said it so simply. As if it were a fact carved in stone. "And I protect what's mine."
Heat rushed up my neck—embarrassment? Relief? Something else entirely.
I'm supposed to be the prince who ran away.
The boy nobody wanted.
The mistake of a queen.
But with Ravion…
I didn't feel unwanted.
Or weak.
Or disposable.
I felt like I belonged somewhere for the first time.
"You're sure she won't hurt Nocterra because of me?" I asked quietly.
"If she does…" Ravion's shadow flared behind him like wings. "Then she'll learn why the rest of the world fears this kingdom."
My breath hitched. "You'd go to war for me?"
He didn't blink.
"I'd burn kingdoms for you."
I wanted to say something—anything—but emotion jammed my throat. I blinked hard, eyes stinging.
He reached out and tilted my chin up gently.
"You don't have to hide from me," he murmured.
I swallowed. "I… I love you."
The words came small, but real. So real it scared me.
A slow smile touched his lips—soft but possessive. "Good."
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead—gentle,
Like a vow he planned to keep for a lifetime.
"I love you too."
The world outside was preparing for war.
But in that moment, wrapped in Ravion's arms, sheltered by his shadows, I felt safe. Truly safe.
For the first time since I escaped the Tidelands…
I felt like I had a home.