The forest stood quiet beneath the pale glow of the moon.
The wind moved gently through the tall trees, stirring the branches into a soft restless whisper. Somewhere far beyond the woods, the sea struck against the cliffs of Aurelion in distant waves.
Maria was moaning under the passionate kiss
Too close. She could feel his heat touching the hem of gown.
The anger that had once filled the air between them had vanished, leaving behind something far more dangerous.
Silence.
Not the cold silence of strangers.
But the trembling silence of two hearts that had finally laid their wounds bare.
Cassian pulled away and looked at the flushed breathless women infront of her.
For the first time since returning from war, he allowed himself to truly see her.
Maria had changed.
The girl he remembered had been radiant.
The woman before him was something far more devastating.
Her red hair glowed like dark fire beneath the moonlight. Her flushed skin appeared almost luminous against the shadows of the forest. And those blue eyes… those strange, luminous eyes that held depths he had never fully understood.
For a brief moment Cassian felt something sharp twist inside his chest.
Unworthiness.
A thought he had buried for years rose quietly within his mind.
What right did he have to stand before her like this?
She was the daughter of a king.
The future queen of Aurelion.
Graceful. Beautiful. Untouchable.
And he…
He was merely a man who had spent the last two years drowning in blood and war.
His hands had taken lives.
His soul had grown rough and hardened beneath battlefields and fire.
How could such a woman truly belong beside someone like him?
Maria noticed the strange change in his expression.
"Cassian?"
Her voice was soft.
Concerned.
But Cassian's thoughts had already begun spiraling into darker places.
What if she had changed as well?
What if the years apart had made her realize there were better men within the palace walls?
Men with titles, wealth, charm.
Men untouched by war.
Men worthy of her beauty.
The thought twisted violently inside him.
Before he realized what he was doing, his hand reached forward and caught her wrist.
Maria blinked in surprise.
"Cassian…?"
His voice when he spoke was quiet.
Almost raw.
"Do not let me go."
Maria froze.
Cassian's eyes lowered slightly, as though ashamed of the words leaving his mouth.
"I know what I must sound like."
A faint bitter smile touched his lips.
"A prince begging like a desperate man beneath the trees."
Maria stared at him, confused.
But Cassian continued.
His voice softer now.
More vulnerable than she had ever heard it.
"I have nothing to offer you, Maria."
He gestured faintly toward himself.
"I returned from war with scars, ghosts, and a name that only exists because your father allows it."
His gaze lifted slowly to hers.
"And yet the thought that you might belong to another man…"
The words faltered in his throat.
"It terrifies me more than any battlefield ever has."
Maria's heart tightened painfully.
Cassian's grip on her wrist loosened slightly.
"If you must keep me beside you," he murmured quietly, "then keep me however you wish."
His voice dropped into something dangerously honest.
"A loyal dog."
"A servant."
"A lover who exists only when you call for him."
Maria's eyes widened in shock.
"Cassian."
But he continued as though he had already crossed the point of shame.
"Only do not cast me away."
The vulnerability in his voice struck her harder than any anger ever could.
For a moment she simply stared at him.
Then suddenly she stepped forward.
Her hand rose and grasped the collar of his coat.
"You speak such foolish things."
Cassian looked at her in surprise.
Maria's voice trembled, but her gaze remained firm.
"You are not some stray creature begging for affection."
Her fingers tightened slightly in the fabric.
"You are my fiancé."
The word hung in the air between them.
Cassian's breath caught.
Maria's voice softened.
"You always have been."
For a moment he simply stared at her.
As though trying to convince himself the words were real.
But the old doubts still lingered quietly in the corners of his mind.
Perhaps sensing this, Maria stepped closer until barely a breath separated them.
"If you truly wish to prove your devotion," she whispered softly, "then stop speaking like a man who believes he does not deserve love."
Cassian looked down at her.
Her eyes were bright.
Alive.
Waiting.
Something inside him finally broke free.
Enough.
Enough doubts.
Enough distance.
Enough fear.
He would deal with his thoughts later.
For now there was only the woman standing before him.
Cassian's hand lifted slowly to her cheek.
His thumb brushed lightly against her skin.
Then without another word he pulled her closer.
Maria barely had time to breathe again before his lips captured hers beneath the quiet shadow of the trees.
The kiss was deep.
Hungry.
Years of longing and restrained emotion pouring into a single moment.
Maria's fingers tightened instinctively against his coat as the world seemed to spin quietly around them.
The forest wind moved through the branches above.
The moon watched silently through the leaves.
And beneath the ancient trees of Aurelion, the prince finally allowed himself to hold the woman he had feared losing.