Chapter 40 | The Free City | Leah
# We Made It to the Southern Border on Day Five
The free city of Velaris rose from the plains like a mirage—white walls, red roofs, towers with banners flapping in the warm wind. No Council flags. No bloodline rules. Just a city that belonged to itself.
I stood on the hilltop staring at it, tears running down my face. Not sad tears. Relief. The crushing weight of five days of fear finally lifting.
"We made it," I whispered.
"We made it," Kael said, his arm around my shoulder. He looked as worn out as I felt—torn clothes, hollow face from no sleep, silver-black hair covered in dust. But his eyes were bright. Full of hope.
We walked down the hill, crossing the border marked by a simple stone pillar. No guards. No checkpoints. Just the pillar and the open road ahead.
Velaris hit us with chaos. The streets were narrow and packed, full of vendors selling everything from bloodfruit to magic trinkets. The people were all mixed together—Purebloods, Halfbloods, Nullbloods, even humans, all hanging out with no ranking system. No Suppressors. No noble symbols. Just... people.
"It's different," I said, overwhelmed by the noise, the colors, the freedom.
"It's better," Kael said. "Come on. I know a place."
He led me through the maze of streets to a quiet area near the eastern wall. A small house—stone and wood, with a garden out front and a view of the plains. The door was unlocked.
"It's ours," Kael said. "I set this up years ago. An emergency backup. Never thought I'd use it like this."
We went inside. The house was simple but cozy—a bedroom, a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace. Clean sheets on the bed. Food in the pantry. Water in the tank.
Home.
I fell onto the bed, my body finally letting itself feel the exhaustion I'd been pushing down for days. Kael sat next to me, his hand on my forehead, checking for fever.
"Rest," he said. "Sleep as long as you need to."
"Don't leave," I mumbled, already fading.
"I won't."
I slept for fourteen hours. When I woke up, the sun was setting, filling the room with gold and red light. Kael was in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled incredible.
"You cook?" I asked, walking in barefoot.
"Three thousand years. You learn things." He smiled, stirring the pot. "Sit down. Eat."
We ate at the small kitchen table, sharing a simple meal of stew and bread. It was the best food I'd ever had—not because of what was in it, but because we could eat it in freedom. No hiding. No running. Just... living.
"What now?" I asked as we washed dishes together.
"Now," Kael said, "we build a life. You keep training. I find work—there are always people in Velaris who need a good fighter or someone who knows politics."
"And the Council?"
"They can't touch us here. Velaris is independent. Protected by treaties older than the Council itself." He dried his hands and turned to me. "We're safe, Leah. Really safe."
I looked at him. At this ancient Prince who gave up everything—his title, his power, his whole world—to protect me. To love me.
"Thank you," I said, my voice thick.
"For what?"
"For everything."
He pulled me into his arms, holding me tight. The Bloodbond link pulsed faintly between us—a shadow of what it used to be, a whisper of connection. But we didn't need it. We had something better.
We had freedom. We had safety. We had each other.
And as the sun set over Velaris, painting the free city in shades of gold and hope, I knew that whatever came next, we'd face it together.
Not as Prince and Nullblood. Not bound by blood or magic.
As Kael and Leah. Two people who chose each other. And who would keep choosing each other, again and again, for all the days ahead.