Astelion POV
An uneasy, sickening feeling coiled deep in my stomach the moment Castel stepped into the pavilion light, his powers rippling over the crushed grass. Kiono followed in his shadow like a silent executioner.
Aiona, Iona, and Lichi scrambled to their feet, their dresses rustling in panic. Along with the other guards, we all turned and bowed our heads, the silence in the garden stretching so tight it felt ready to snap.
"Care to finish that sentence, Eina?" Castel asked, his voice deceptively smooth as he glided forward, stopping directly in front of her.
Eina swallowed so hard the sound practically echoed against the stone pillars. Arastella let out a low, involuntary chuckle, entirely unbothered by the King's terrifying entrance.
Castel didn't look at my grandmother. Instead, he leaned down, his eyes locked onto Eina as he whispered with terrifyingly, "Would you like to go meet your lover?"
Eina's eyes darted frantically toward Kiono. The sheer terror on her face, and tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"Don't look at him. Look at me," a bright, blindingly beautiful smile spreading across his face—the kind of smile he wore right before he destroyed something. "I wonder... will your neck make that beautiful snapping sound just like hers if I wring it?"
I held my breath for a second. My gaze instantly snapped to Kiono in absolute disbelief, my heart racing. There ain't no way he killed her, I panicked internally, searching his face for a lie. Why would he? But Kiono kept his head still, his blue eyes staring blankly into the distance. He wouldn't even meet my gaze.
Desperate to break the tension before Castel actually painted the white marble with Eina's blood, I reached out and subtly tapped Arastella's shoulder, giving her a pointed look to do something.
My grandmother rolled her eyes, letting out a heavy, irritated sigh before she forced her expression into a sweeter mask. "Castel," she said, her voice dripping with a forced warmth that completely failed to sound genuine. "I thought you were having lunch with me, not breakfast."
The distraction worked. Castel stepped away from a trembling Eina, his terrifying aura shifting instantly as he walked over to stand directly in front of my grandmother.
"My meeting with the council ended earlier than anticipated," he said smoothly, the gold in his left eye gleaming. "So, I decided to bring you to see your family."
Arastella stood up immediately, her purple skirts billowing around her as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you playing at?"
"Nothing," Castel smiled, tilting his head with a dangerous charm. "Just doing something sweet for my wife."
He held out his hand. Arastella stared at his open palm like it was a snake, but knowing the stakes, she slowly reached out and took it.
"You all stay here," Castel ordered the rest of us, his voice leaving no room for argument.
As he began to lead her away, Arastella shot a burning look over her shoulder straight at me—a look that screamed, Don't you dare leave me with him alone. I looked back at her, my eyes screaming in return that if I moved a single inch against the King's orders, I would be killed on the spot. She fake-smiled at her husband, and the two of them disappeared around the ivy-covered stone archway.
The moment their silhouettes vanished, the suffocating pressure lifted, and the pavilion erupted.
Eina whirled around, lunging directly at Kiono. Before anyone could stop her, she delivered a vicious, echoing slap right across his cheek.
"How could you?!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with hysterical tears.
Aiona and Iona immediately rushed forward, grabbing Eina's arms and pulling her back to create a safe distance between her and the King's shadow. Kiono didn't flinch. He didn't even move his head, the red mark on his cheek the only evidence of the blow. He said absolutely nothing.
"Did you betray me for her?!" Eina screamed, her trembling finger snapping over the space between us to point directly at my face.
I stepped back, "I had nothing to do with this," I said, my voice tight. "I am not even sure what just happened."
"Oh, shut up!" Eina cried out, her face twisted in pure, humiliated rage.
"Do not speak to her like that," Kiono growled.
The low, rumble of his voice made the other girls freeze. Eina let out a harsh, watery laugh, her eyes flashing with pure malice as she glared at me. "I will talk to her however I want! She is nothing but a hole that you warm yourself in because you are bored—"
In a fraction of a second, the space between them vanished. Kiono appeared directly in front of her, the sheer speed of his movement kicking up a gust of wind. Before she could even gasp, his large hand clamped firmly over her face, completely covering her whole face. His flashed to there normal color green and glowed with a terrifying, intensity.
"Say one more thing about her," Kiono whispered, his fingers tightening against her jaw as the other girls shrieked in horror. "I dare you."
I stared at him, my heart racing a million miles an hour against my chest. A painful, ache in my chest. God, I can't help but love this man. Even though I knew his bloodline, even though every logical part of my brain screamed that I shouldn't want him, watching him defend my honor sent a wave of electric warmth straight through my broken heart.
But the air in the pavilion was getting too thick. The conflicting emotions—the love, the hatred, the absolute terror of the palace—swarmed over me until I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Gasping for air, I abruptly turned on my heel and ran.
I didn't look back. I sprinted down the winding gravel pathways, pushing past overgrown rosebushes and weeping willow branches, desperate to find a place where the walls weren't closing in. I finally slammed to a halt in a secluded, shaded alcove near the edge of the palace walls, pressing my back against a cool stone pillar as I tried to force air into my lungs.
The soft, crunching sound of footsteps on gravel shattered the silence.
I whipped my head around, but it was him.
Kiono stopped just inches away from me, his breathing as ragged as mine. He didn't say a word. He just reached out, his warm hands coming up to gently cuff my face, his thumbs wiping the stray tears from my cheeks. The tenderness of his touch after so much completely ruined me.
Before I could think, before I could scream, he pulled me in and slammed his lips against mine.
And this time, I didn't resist. I let the world burn around us, wrapping my arms tight around his neck as I drowned in his touch.