Chapter 159 Just us and God

Chapter 159 Just us and God

Seraphine POV

The news of the arrests stuck with me all the way into the next morning. I couldn’t shake it. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw faces... the old woman who’d given me Selene’s token, the rebel leader kneeling at my feet, the scared wolves whispering “Princess” when they thought no one would hear. I kept wondering, where were they now? Were they hiding? Running? Caught? Gone? The questions just sat there, heavy in my chest, as we rode on.

The road went on forever, or at least it felt that way. Trees stretched out on both sides, leaves tossing in the wind. The weather was gorgeous... too gorgeous. Honestly, it felt almost cruel because there was nothing beautiful left inside me.

I rode next to Agora. I stayed quiet. He didn’t try to make me talk or drag me out of my stupor. Still, I knew he was watching me. He always did.

We barely spoke the whole morning, just the clop of hooves, the creak of saddle leather. And then, out of nowhere...

“If Wildfire were yours tomorrow, would you take it?”

I almost fell off my horse. I turned so quickly that my neck was twinged. “What?”

Agora’s face was calm... too calm, like what he’d just asked wasn’t making my heart race. “If the throne became yours tomorrow,” he said again, softer this time, “would you take it?”

I answered right away. “No.”

He blinked, surprised. Part of me wanted to laugh. Everybody else seemed surprised by that answer, too. The rebels, the servants, even the people who muttered about the missing princess. It was as if they thought reclaiming Wildfire was a foregone conclusion. That just knowing who I was meant I’d become queen. But every time I pictured it... a cold wave of fear crashed through me.

“I wouldn’t.”

Agora studied me. “Not even if they offered it willingly?”

“No.”

“Not even if Kael stepped aside?”

“No.”

He frowned. I let out a breath and looked away. The forest streamed past, green and endless, feeling thousands of miles from the kingdom behind us.

“You think I’m lying.”

“I think you’re scared.”

I gave a bitter laugh. “That’s because I am.”

His face softened. We kept riding. The talk should have ended there, but it hung in the air. Agora never asked a question without a reason. After a while, I couldn’t help it.

“Why would I even want it?”

Agora looked like I had caught him off guard. “The throne?”

“Yeah.”

He nudged his horse closer. “It’s your birthright.”

That word made me cringe. Birthright. Just another title, another weight, another thing people wanted to dump on my shoulders.

“I spent years scrubbing floors,” I said quietly. “Years just trying not to get hit.” I saw his jaw clench, but I kept going. “I worried about food. About staying alive.” Memories flickered... nights shivering, stomach aching, the sting of cruel words, being unwanted, being sold, being treated like I didn’t matter. Royal blood hadn’t wiped that away. I was still me. Still Seraphine. Still, the girl who knew what hunger was.

“I don’t know how to rule anyone.”

The truth slipped out before I could catch it. Agora stayed silent, but I could tell he was listening... really listening. It made me feel braver.

“I don’t know politics,” I said, half-laughing. “Half the time I don’t even understand the meetings you go to.”

Finally, a flicker of a smile from him. “I’ve noticed.”

I shot him a look. He didn’t look the slightest bit sorry. Humor faded fast, though. The truth didn’t go anywhere.

“I don’t know how to be a queen.” I could feel the weight in my voice. “Most rulers don’t know how at first,” he said.

“Oh, that’s great. Really helps.”

“It should.”

I rolled my eyes, but he just kept going. “Honestly, as royal disasters go, you’re doing pretty well.”

I stared at him. “That’s your idea of encouragement?”

“It was.”

“Awful.”

“Worked.”

“It didn’t.”

“It made you smile.”

Annoyingly, he was right. A tiny smile showed up anyway.

For a while, we were quiet. But it was a good quiet. Not the suffocating kind.

Eventually, Agora spoke again. “You think wanting the throne makes someone right for it.”

I frowned. “What?”

He stared ahead. “A lot of people who desperately want power... the last thing they deserve is to have it.”

I hadn’t expected that, not from him. He was an Alpha, a ruler, one of the most powerful wolves alive. No arrogance in his voice, just truth.

“I never asked for any of this,” I admitted.

He nodded. “I know.”

“I was happier before.” I surprised myself with that. But it was true. Things were awful back then... painful, lonely, but simple. No kingdoms. No betrayal. No dead queens or murderous fathers. Just surviving.

Agora turned to me. “Were you?”

That question landed hard. I tried to answer, then shut my mouth. Because suddenly I wasn’t sure. Maybe I’d known less. Maybe that was the difference. All I could say was, “I don’t know.”

His eyes turned gentle. “Neither do I.”

That caught me off-guard. “You don’t?”

He shook his head. “I met a servant.”

My heart skipped. Agora never talked about feelings, rarely let anything soft show. I listened.

“I meant to use her.”

I held my breath. He smiled, just a little. “Then she became my problem.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a real romantic.”

He grinned. “Oh, it gets worse.”

“Perfect.”

“She argued about everything.”

“I did not.”

“You absolutely did.”

“I was respectful.”

“You threatened to throw a vase at me.”

“I didn’t throw it.”

“Because I stopped you.”

I laughed, for real this time. The sound felt strange, considering everything. But good, too. Just normal. For a moment we weren’t talking about kingdoms, or thrones, or destiny. We were just ourselves.

We were just God and us. I needed that more than anything. Agora saw me laughing and looked so pleased that it made me pause. Something about his face seemed a little too satisfied. I squinted at him. “You planned that.”

He played dumb. “What?”

“That story.”

He protested. “No.”

“You totally planned it,” I pressed.

He actually looked offended. The liar. Still, I couldn’t help but smile. My smile faded just as quickly as reality always has a way of seeping back in.

My hand drifted to the metal token in my pocket.. Selene’s. Its weight grounded me, but it dragged reminders along with it. Duty. Expectations. Wildfire. I realized I wasn’t really free of the kingdom, not anymore.

“I don’t want people to suffer.” The words slipped out, barely above a whisper.

Agora’s face softened right away. “I know.”

“I don’t want children starving.” My voice wobbled. “Or innocent wolves vanishing.” Pictures crowded in... hungry faces, desperate parents, vanished rebels, all that fear in the lower districts. It made my chest ache. “I hate what’s happening there.”

He kept his eyes on me. “I know.”

Swallowing, I forced out what I had barely admitted to myself. “But hating it doesn’t make me able to fix it.” That stung. Some part of me wished royal blood meant answers, or wisdom, or even just the right instincts. It didn’t. I just felt lost. Small. Absolutely unready.

“Everyone looks at me like I’m supposed to save them,” I said, and my voice cracked. “And I don’t know how.”

Agora didn’t answer right away. Instead, he moved his horse closer, until our legs were almost touching. He just sat with me... solid and real, and for a second I felt steady too.

Finally, he spoke. “You know what I see?”

I shook my head.

He met my gaze, steady and sure. “I see someone who cares.”

Something twisted in my chest. “That’s not enough.”

“It matters.” His voice was so certain it almost made me break. “You care when most people don’t.”

I had to look away. I couldn’t take the earnestness in his eyes. What if he was wrong? What if everyone were wrong? What if caring wasn’t nearly enough?

That fear had been with me as long as I could remember. Now it just wore a different mask.

We rode on for a long time, silent except for the creak of saddles and hoofbeats and the conversation hanging between us. The road unfurled ahead... miles and miles of it. The sun started to sink, lighting up the sky with gold and orange. For one aching moment, I let myself imagine what life would be like if none of this had happened, if secrets had stayed buried, if Wildfire had just been a story, if Kael was still a stranger, if Selene was just a portrait on the wall.

Would I be happier? Or just ignorant? I didn’t know. Maybe I never would.

The wind blew cool through the trees, brushing my skin and calming me a little. The heaviness in my chest stuck around. You can travel as far as you want, but some things trail after you. Wildfire. The throne. The title you can’t shake. Princess. The word never felt real... but it never went away, either.

As the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, Agora finally broke the silence. He sounded different: careful, almost nervous. That instantly got my attention... Agora was rarely hesitant.

“If one day the throne really is yours…”

I groaned. “We’re still on this?”

He gave a fleeting smile, then turned serious again. More serious than before, actually, and that did something unpleasant to my stomach. It didn’t feel like a what-if anymore. It felt like a warning. Or maybe a question we’d both been avoiding.

He looked right at me. “What if one day they need you anyway?”