Chapter 33: Cade's Patience Wears

POV: Aria Blackwood

Dominic comes to the gates again.

He's been doing this every day for the past week. Since Elder Thaddeus left. Since the Council demanded the trial. Since everything became uncertain again. He brings gifts. He brings stories. He brings the mate bond's pull with him like a living thing.

And every time he leaves, Aria feels herself slip further toward him.

Today he's brought books about blood witch trials from centuries past. Books about witches who defended themselves in front of Councils and won. Books about survival and strategy and how to navigate supernatural politics.

It's exactly what she needs.

And that's the problem.

Aria takes the books without thanking him. She's learned that gratitude feels too much like surrender. She reads his words about how he's studying late every night trying to find legal precedents that might help her. She feels the mate bond pull when he talks about his fear that she'll be convicted. That she'll be executed. That he'll lose her before he even gets the chance to prove he's changed.

By the time he leaves, her walls have crumbled again.

She spends the afternoon reading the books he brought. By evening, she's making notes. By midnight, she's thinking about strategies for the trial. And somewhere in the middle of all that, she's started believing that maybe he does care. That maybe his efforts matter.

That maybe she could forgive him.

Cade finds her in the war room at dawn.

She hasn't slept. She's surrounded by books and notes and trial records. She's been preparing all night, trying to build a defense against wolves who want her dead. And Cade watches her work for a long moment before he speaks.

"We need to talk," he says.

His voice is different. Not angry. Not frustrated. Just tired. Like he's been holding something in for so long that speaking it now is almost a relief.

Aria looks up. She can see it in his face. The moment has come.

"I won't compete with a mate bond," Cade says. He sits down across from her slowly. Like he's giving her time to brace for impact. "I can't. Fated bonds are written into blood. They're not something I can fight. And I respect that you have one."

Aria's heart starts racing.

"But I also won't share you," Cade continues. His dark eyes are steady on hers. "I won't be the man waiting in the wings while you figure out if you want him. I won't watch you lean on him when you need support and then come to me for comfort. That's not fair to you. And it's not fair to me."

"Cade—" Aria starts.

"Let me finish," he says. His voice is gentle but absolute. "So you need to decide. You need to choose. Do you want him or do you want me? Because I'm not waiting around while you figure it out. I'm not going to stand here and watch you be pulled in two directions while the trial happens and the world falls apart."

Aria feels something break inside her.

"That's not fair," she says. But the words are empty.

"It's completely fair," Cade responds. "It's the only fair thing. You deserve to know what you want. You deserve to choose someone because you actually want them, not because you're using them to fill a void. And I deserve someone who chooses me with certainty."

He stands up.

"I'm giving you three days," he says. "Before the trial. Three days to figure out who you actually want to be with. And Aria, I hope you choose me. I hope you choose the man who's been honest with you since the beginning. But if you choose him, I'll accept that. And I'll step back."

He leaves before she can respond.

Aria sits alone in the war room surrounded by trial notes and feels completely hollow.

Because Cade is right. She's been using both of them. Using the mate bond to justify leaning on Dominic while telling herself it's not a choice. Using Cade's honesty and protection as a counterweight so she doesn't feel guilty about being drawn to Dominic. Playing both sides because deciding would mean actually being responsible for her feelings.

That night, she doesn't sleep.

She walks through the compound trying to clear her mind but it's impossible. Everywhere she looks, she sees evidence of both men. The training warehouse where she practiced with Cade. The gardens where Dominic brings her gifts. The war room where she's been trying to survive.

Her power is restless. The darkness stirs. Both of them sense her internal chaos and it makes them hungry.

Around midnight, she finds herself at the perimeter.

Dominic is still awake in his camp. She can feel him through the mate bond. Can sense his worry. Can taste his desperation to prove himself through the books he brought and the strategy he's been building.

He loves her.

But does he love the her she actually is? Or does he love the idea of her? The powerful sovereign he failed to see before?

Cade is in his chambers going through reports. Still working. Still protecting the compound. Still doing everything she needs even while giving her the space to choose.

He cares for her.

But is that enough? Is care without the bond's pull real love or just obligation?

Aria doesn't know.

She reaches out with her power and touches both of them simultaneously. Feels Dominic's desperate hope through the mate bond connection. Feels Cade's exhausted resignation through the blood-sense. Both of them are holding their breath waiting for her decision.

And she realizes something horrible.

She doesn't know who she wants because she doesn't know who she is.

The girl in the basement was desperate and broken. The girl in the warehouse was learning to be powerful. The girl walking through this compound is something caught between both versions. She's not whole. She's not complete. She's barely holding herself together while everyone around her pretends she has everything figured out.

Before she can spiral deeper, there's a commotion from the main gates.

Guards are shouting. Alarm bells are ringing. Not the battle alarm. Something else.

A messenger appears, riding hard from the northern territories. He jumps from his horse before it even stops.

"The Council is moving up the timeline," he says, breathing hard. "They're not waiting for you to prepare. They're coming tomorrow. They've decided to hold the trial immediately. If you're not there at dawn, they're declaring you in default. They're executing you in absentia and taking over all your territories."

Aria feels her power surge.

Tomorrow.

She has one day to prepare for a trial that will decide if she lives or dies. One day to figure out who she wants to be. One day to choose between two men. One day to stop the darkness from taking over completely.

It's not enough.

It's nowhere near enough.

But it's all she has.

Cade appears at the gates instantly. Dominic breaks camp and rides toward her immediately. Both of them converge on the compound knowing that everything is about to change.

And Aria stands in the center of it all with the weight of every choice crushing down on her.

The darkness whispers that this is her chance. That the trial is just an excuse. That she should use it to show everyone what she's truly capable of. That she should stop pretending to be good and just take what's hers.

The light whispers that she has to choose. That she has to decide who she wants to be. That everything depends on the choice she makes in the next twenty-four hours.

And standing there with both men approaching and the trial looming and the darkness screaming and the world about to explode, Aria realizes she has no idea which voice to listen to.