Chapter 57 Lila's advice
The council erupted. Half shouting support for ancient law. Half crying that mate bonds were sacred. The chamber dissolved into chaos as the fundamental question divided the kingdom.
Finally, Thorne's voice cut through. "Your Majesty. If you claim your mate in violation of law, the council will have no choice but to question your fitness to rule. Some will support you. Some will oppose. The kingdom will fracture. Civil war becomes possible. Thousands could die because you couldn't wait for proper process."
"So I choose between my mate and my kingdom."
"You choose between immediate gratification and long-term good." Thorne's voice was firm. "You can have both, Your Majesty. Your mate and your throne. But not immediately. Not while the law stands. You must be patient. Must endure. Must prove the bond doesn't cloud your judgment by following rules even when they hurt."
Adrian was silent for a long moment. Through the bond, Lila felt his struggle. Felt him weighing options that all led to suffering.
"How long?" He finally asked. "You say the process takes three to five years. Give me a specific timeline. When can I expect resolution?"
"The council will begin formal proceedings immediately. Will debate the law. Will hear arguments. Will vote on whether to change it. That takes minimum one year. Then the decision goes to the High Court of Five Kingdoms. They must debate and ratify. That's another year minimum. Then implementation. Then." Thorne paused. "Realistically, Your Majesty? Three years if everything goes perfectly. Five years if there are complications."
"Three to five years of this. Of separation and suffering and denying what the Goddess created."
"Or you abdicate your crown now. Claim your mate. Walk away from the throne and let the kingdom choose a new ruler." Thorne's voice was quiet. "That's also an option. Immediate. Simple. Allows you to fulfill the bond without waiting."
"And leaves the kingdom without its rightful king. Leaves Theo without his father's guidance. Leaves thousands of people to suffer under whoever the council chooses as replacement." Adrian's voice was bitter. "Some choice."
"All choices have costs, Your Majesty. The question is which cost you're willing to pay."
Through the bond, Lila felt Adrian's realization. There was no good choice. No option that didn't require sacrifice. He could claim her and destroy his kingdom. Or deny her and destroy himself. Or wait years in suffering hoping the law changed.
"I need time." Adrian's voice was rough. "Time to think. Time to consider. Time to."
"You have one month." Thorne's voice was gentle but firm. "One month to decide your path. Claim your mate and abdicate. Or remain as king and wait for the law to change. Choose wisely, Your Majesty. For your choice will shape the future of the Northern Kingdom."
The council adjourned. Adrian returned to his study. Lila waited in her chambers. Both of them separated by walls and duty and impossible choices.
That night, he came to her window again. Climbed through and collapsed in her arms, his control finally shattering completely.
"They're asking me to choose between you and everything I am." His voice broke. "Between mate and crown. Between love and duty. Between what my soul needs and what the kingdom requires."
"I know." Lila held him, feeling his pain through the bond. "I felt it all through your emotions. Felt every moment of the council tearing you apart."
"I can't choose. Either option destroys something essential. Either choice makes me fail someone I'm supposed to protect."
"Then don't choose." Lila pulled back to meet his eyes. "Wait. Endure. Let them change the law. Three to five years is horrible but it's survivable. We've already survived three years of denial. What's a few more?"
"A lifetime." Adrian's hands framed her face. "Every day feels like a lifetime when I can't claim you. Can't mark you. Can't make you mine in every way that matters."
"You already have me. Bond or no bond. Mark or no mark. I'm yours and you're mine. That's not something law can change or prevent."
"But it's not enough." The admission came out broken. "Feeling you through the bond, holding you in secret, knowing you're trapped in this palace because of me. It's not enough and it's killing me."
Through the window, the kingdom stretched into darkness. Thousands of people depending on Adrian's leadership. Depending on him to be strong when he felt weak. To be wise when he felt confused. To be king when all he wanted was to be mate.
"Choose the kingdom." Lila said quietly. "Wait for the law to change. Let us endure a few more years of suffering so thousands don't suffer from civil war."
"You're telling me to choose against you?"
"I'm telling you to choose for both of us. For our future. For the kingdom Theo will inherit. For the bond that will still exist in three years or five years or ten years." She kissed him gently. "I'll wait, Adrian. I'll wait however long it takes. Because you're worth waiting for."
He pulled her against him, holding her like she might disappear. Through the bond, she felt his decision forming. Felt duty winning over desire. Felt him choosing crown over immediate claiming.
It was the right choice. The noble choice. The choice that would save thousands of lives.
But it hurt like dying anyway.
Outside, the moon rose over the Northern Kingdom. Casting silver light over a palace full of secrets and suffering and bonds that refused to break no matter how hard duty tried to sever them.
Adrian had thirty days to officially decide. But Lila felt his choice already made. Felt him accepting years more suffering to avoid civil war. Felt him choosing to be king instead of just mate.
And somewhere in the darkness, in exile temporary but triumphant, Margot and Garrett waited. Waited for Lila and Adrian to destroy each other. Waited for duty and bond to tear them apart. Waited for the perfect moment to return and claim everything they'd killed for.
And this time, when they struck, there would be no witnesses. No evidence. No trial.
Just death and victory and everything they'd schemed for since the beginning.
The game wasn't over. It had only just begun.