Chapter 20 -Caylix-
\-Caylix-
The release leaves me hollow instead of relieved. For several long seconds, I remain braced against the cold stone wall, breathing hard, my forehead pressed against the rough surface while shame crawls beneath my skin like poison. My hand curls into a fist at my side as I force myself upright. My entire body still aches with the aftermath of the hex, but worse than the desire is the realization settling heavily into my chest. I lost control. Not fully, not enough to hurt her, but enough that it matters. I imagined things I should never want from my princess with such desperate hunger it nearly stripped the discipline from my bones.
Avi.
Even now, through the tether, I can still feel her sleeping peacefully beneath the blankets. She trusted me. The words cut deeper than any blade ever has. I drag both hands down my face before forcing myself to move. I dress quickly, every movement sharp and controlled. Then I leave her chambers. The palace corridors are silent after calling for a palace lockdown. My boots echo quietly as I make my way toward the king’s private war chamber.
The guards outside the doors straighten immediately. “Commander.”
I nod once. “I need the king.”
One disappears inside without question. A moment later, the door opens. King Alexander is standing near the map table when I enter, candlelight flickers across the sharp lines of his face, but it is his eyes that settle heavily on me. His truth-seeing eyes. I feel them immediately, not invasive, but impossible to hide from.
“I knew you would come once it was safe to do so,” Alexander says quietly. “My men alerted me to a threat against the princess.”
The guilt in my chest twists harder. I step forward and bow my head briefly before straightening.
“There was an incident in the stable.”
“Tell me.”
So I do.
“I will not give every detail,” I say carefully. “To spare Avianna’s dignity. But you can truth-see everything you need to. I will not hide anything from you.”
Alexander nods once for me to continue. So I explain the boy approaching Avianna, the moment he touched her, the reaction that followed minutes later, the way the hex ignited beneath her skin, the revulsion she felt toward Rhydon, the escalation once I touched her. Alexander does not interrupt once, but I feel his magic watching every word, measuring the truth. By the time I finish, the chamber has gone completely silent. Alexander studies me for a long moment.
“No one has ever resisted a lust hex before,” he says finally.
I force myself to answer evenly. “I did not resist all of it.”
His gaze sharpens slightly, but not with judgment.
“You resisted with enough control to remove yourself from her chambers,” he says. “And because of that, my daughter remains untouched.”
Heat crawls up the back of my neck. The king does not press further, he knows enough already, his truth-magic makes certain of that. I stand straight, looking him in the eyes.
“If you wish to remove me from her service,” I say, “I understand.”
The words nearly kill me to say because the thought of leaving her feels unbearable. Alexander goes still then his voice turns colder than steel.
“Remove you?”
The king’s expression is unreadable, but power hums quietly beneath his skin now, truth magic curling through the room like invisible pressure.
“You resisted dark magic placed directly against a man’s weakest point,” he says. “Do you understand how rare that is?”
My jaw tightens.
“I nearly failed her.”
“But you didn’t. You walked away.”
The words hit me harder than I expected. Alexander studies me for another long moment before continuing.
“You think weakness is wanting her.”
The truth magic presses lightly against my ribs. I say nothing because denying it would be a lie.
Alexander exhales slowly. “Most men would have taken advantage of the situation long before reaching the level of restraint you showed tonight.”
Something dark twists in my stomach because part of me still feels like I betrayed her trust.
“I am lucky to have you in my service, Caylix,” Alexander says quietly.
The words hit with enough force that my chest tightens painfully.
“And Avianna is safe with no one else.”
I stare at him while he moves slowly around the war table.
“This changes things though,” he says. “A targeted lust hex requires dark magic. That alone is concerning enough.”
My mind immediately shifts toward strategy despite the exhaustion clawing through me.
“The boy?”
“Likely used,” Alexander says grimly. “A vessel to deliver the magic.”
I nod, I had already suspected the same.
Alexander folds his hands behind his back. “There is another issue.”
I already know what he is going to say.
“If this reaction only occurs with you…” His gaze fixes on mine. “Then the hex was crafted specifically around your connection to her.”
The tether.
Alexander continues carefully, “Until we determine whether the effects are isolated to you or transferable to others, Avianna is not to be left alone with anyone else.”
Despite everything inside me screaming for distance, the thought of another man touching her while she is vulnerable enough to respond like that… My hands clench instinctively.
“Only you,” he says firmly. “Until we understand what we are dealing with.”
I force myself to nod again. The king is placing more trust in me at the exact moment I trust myself the least. Alexander’s gaze softens slightly then, just enough to make him look less like a king and more like a father carrying impossible burdens.
“How is she now?”
“Asleep.”
“And you?”
The question catches me off guard. I hesitate a fraction too long and his truth magic hums softly through the silence. Alexander already knows the answer.
“Managing,” I say finally.
One corner of his mouth tightens with understanding.
“You will return to her chambers.”
It is not a question.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“She will need someone she trusts when she wakes.”
The words settle deep in my chest because the worst part of all of this is that she does trust me. Completely. And I am beginning to fear that her trust is misplaced. Alexander watches me for one final moment before nodding once.
“Go.”
I bow my head immediately and turn toward the doors.
But just before I leave… “Caylix.”
I stop. The king’s voice lowers.
“You are not the thing I fear tonight.”
The words follow me all the way back to Avianna’s chambers.