Chapter 124

Chapter 124
3rd Person's POV

Relief settled in Winter’s chest when she finally reached her husband and at last they could speak. Then her gaze shifted and she saw Kallias Thorn standing in the same room. 

The calm expression on Winter’s face vanished at once, replaced by sharp caution as her eyes narrowed. Her body stiffened, instincts rising unbidden.

What was he doing here?

“Kallias?” she said slowly, testing the name, as if half-expecting the figure before her to dissolve into illusion.

He didn’t answer.

Kallias only stared at her with something unsettling flickering in his gaze. And the more Winter looked at him, the more wrong everything seemed.

She had never seen Kallias like this. He was thinner as if something had been steadily devouring him from the inside. The weight loss sharpened the lines of his face, hollowed his cheeks, carved shadows beneath his eyes that no amount of rest could erase. He looked like a man dragged from a nightmare and hurled into waking reality, driven here as if he would find the solution in the enemy's land.

Curiosity tugged at Winter despite herself, drawing her forward.

“Winter,” Valtor’s voice came from behind her, low and edged with warning. He reached for her waist but she had already taken a step.

“Valtor,” she said without turning, her tone calm but firm. “Allow me to speak with Kallias alone.”

The request made both men stiffen.

Kallias’s posture shifted instantly, his wariness sharpening as he tried to anticipate her intentions. Valtor nearly growled, the sound rumbling dangerously in his chest, though sheer restraint forced it back.

“I won’t leave you anywhere near this man,” Valtor said. “Let alone by yourself.”

Winter turned to face him.

Something in her gaze made him falter.

It reminded him of his failure just a moment ago. At the moment she had needed him and he hadn’t been there. Shame flared hot and immediate, stripping him of his protest.

“You can wait outside,” Winter said quietly. “I only need a moment.”

Valtor’s jaw tightened. Every instinct screamed against it, but he nodded once. He strode from the room and stationed himself directly outside the door, close enough that if anything went wrong, he would break it down without hesitation.

Inside the room, silence reigned. Before Winter could speak, Kallias broke it.

“Crystal is here,” he said hoarsely. “I came to find her.

'So that was it.' Winter thought.

That was what made him look like a living corpse compared to the man she remembered attending her wedding night. Crystal was gone. And somehow, Kallias had convinced himself she had fled to Nytheris.

“No. She isn't here." Winter said simply.

He shook his head, agitation bleeding into his expression. “You don’t understand. I can feel her. My wolf knows she’s here, Winter. I won’t find rest until I search for her myself, until I bring her back safely.” His voice cracked, stripped of pride and command.

“So I beg you,” he continued, lowering himself in a way she had never seen before, “let me into your territory. Let me bring my Luna home.”

It was the first time Winter had ever heard Kallias Thorn beg.

Whatever the truth was, whether Crystal was here or not, this was serious.

For a fleeting moment, Winter wanted nothing more than to turn away. Summon the guards and have him dragged out and cast beyond the borders.

She could. She was a Queen now.

But a quieter voice inside her refused. Winter Ashbane would never do something like that, and Queen Winter of Nytheris would not abuse her authority.

“I swear I won’t harm anyone,” Kallias said, desperation spilling freely now. “I only need Crystal. I need to know she’s safe.”

Pain laced every word.

“What happened to her?” Winter asked.
“I know her, leaving you would be the last thing Crystal would ever do. Something happened between you. And I need the truth so I know you’re not weaving a story that will bring danger to my land and my people.”

The way her gaze held his made Kallias fall silent.

Shame pressed heavily on his chest. 

He was silent for a moment, embarrassed to admit it. How can he confess, saying that he lost everything, to a woman whom he stripped of everything? To a woman he wanted to make powerless and submit but now he is the one begging before her? Kallias felt like his pride had been torn apart. But he was already clueless, unable to think where to search again.

"Everything crumbled apart." He began. "Our baby died. Crystal was angry and she believed it was my fault and then she left me."