Chapter 33

*Aria*

The dream was different this time.

No blood. No broken vows. No rejection echoing through open space. No tears. No fear.

Instead, I saw Kael.

But not the Kael who stood above me and tore our bond apart with words like blades. No—this Kael was soft in the eyes, shoulders bowed beneath regret. His expression was open, raw, stripped of pride.

He stood in a forest bathed in moonlight, wearing dark ceremonial robes, wind teasing strands of hair across his forehead. His eyes—those haunted amber eyes—held only me.

"I am here," he whispered. "I am yours. I am sorry. Let me love you. Let me fix this."

His voice was rough with something close to reverence. He looked tired, older, like the weight of the crown had crushed him since the last time we stood face to face. Yet in the dream, he wasn’t a king. He wasn’t the Alpha.

He was just Kael. Mine.

My Fated Mate.

In the dream, I stepped toward him, hand reaching. I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. He knelt before me and rested his forehead against my belly, as if I were the only thing he needed. The thing to ground him, guide him. And around us, the forest bloomed. Flowers I’d never seen before—black petals with silver veins—opened as the wind circled us, sweet with cedar and storm.

He looked up at me, eyes full of pain and hope, and behind him, I saw flickering images—like windows to a thousand possible futures.

One where we stood on a balcony together, overlooking a thriving court. Another where I held a child with big amber eyes, not haunted but filled with adoration and love. One where we faced war side by side, bloodied but unbroken. And one, quiet and unassuming, where we simply walked hand in hand through a field of moonflowers.

My chest ached. The part where the bond still haunted me.

Because part of me wanted to believe it.

I woke with a gasp, the dream shattering into silver fragments.

It felt so real, so possible. But it also felt cruel because he rejected me and I didn't know him. Didnt owe him any of those futures. Did I?

The tent was stifling, the air thick with the dream. Sweat clung to my skin, and my pulse thundered beneath it. I shoved off the blankets and sat up slowly, clutching the thin edge of my pallet like it could tether me to something real.

The bond… it pulsed faintly.

Not as sharp as before. But warm. Steady. Intentional. Like it was content.

He had sent it. I knew it. Somewhere, under the same moon, he had thought of me—not with desperation, but with love.

I dressed slowly, pulling on my softest tunic, the one Amy had mended for me with nightshade embroidery. I wrapped a long cloak around my shoulders, then slipped on my boots. I needed the air. I needed to breathe.

Outside, the camp was hushed under the watchful eye of the moon.

Lanterns cast faint golden halos across the earth. Most of the fires had burned low to embers, crackling quietly. The ruins stood behind us like a sleeping sentinel, its silhouette broken but proud. Our tents were nestled in a ring around the main stones of the estate, their canvas sides swaying gently in the breeze.

A few sentries were posted at the edges, shadows with glowing eyes that dipped their heads in greeting as I passed. Their wolves lingered beneath the surface, but they didn’t move. There was no threat tonight. Only the kind of stillness that feels sacred.

The scent of the camp wrapped around me—spiced tea left on coals, pine resin, ash, and the faint sweetness of blooming moonflowers that had begun creeping toward the stones in the days since I arrived.

I walked slowly past the tents.

Ronan’s was still, though I could sense his awareness even in rest. Corren’s had a single lantern flickering inside—he never slept through a full night, always restless. I passed the healer’s tent and saw her curled beside her apprentice, soft breathing muffled beneath layered furs.

No one spoke. No one needed to.

I found myself drifting toward the old well near the edge of the estate—a circle of cracked stone now choked with moss and vines. Beyond it, the land rolled into the hills, shadowed and mysterious, but no longer dead. It was healing, coming back to life.

I stepped up onto the stone ledge and stared out across the night.

The moon was bright and full, silvering the world in dream light. I closed my eyes and let the breeze run through my hair, brushing against the crown still nestled among loose waves and forest-woven braids.

My chest ached. But it wasn’t from sorrow.

It was longing. A desire for clarity. For peace. For choice.

The bond hadn’t faded. And now, it pulsed with something more.

Hope.

I sat on the edge of the well, wrapping my arms around my knees, letting the cool stone press against my spine.

Did I want to forgive him? Could I?

And if I did… what would that mean for the kingdom I was building?

Was there a place for love in the life I was forging? Could I be a queen and still have a heart? Give *Him* my heart?

Because even though my thoughts were scattered I knew you could rule with love. With the right person. WIth the right support. The right ruler.

And... and I felt like I was or could be that ruler and I was building and incredible support group around me. They all believed in me in our shared vision. But whoever stood at my side needed to as well. And I didn't know Kael enough to know if he would willingly step our from his fathers horrible legacy and step into a new world with me.

The dream lingered like mist in my mind. Kael’s words. His plea.

“I am here. I am yours.”

Tears welled, unbidden, stinging my eyes. I wiped them away before they could fall.

I wasn’t ready to answer. Not yet. But I knew this much:

The moon was listening. And I would not face what came next alone.

Somewhere, beyond the hills, the wind shifted. I lifted my head and stared into the dark, as if expecting something-or someone.

And for a heartbeat, I swore I felt it.

Not just the bond.

But him.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Dreaming.

Mine.

And the part of me that still dreamed of him… that part stirred.

I wasn't sure what I would do, I couldn't make such an important decision alone.

So I sat with the moon and the wind and the stars and asked the goddess what was my path. What should I do? Was he really my path or just the catalyst to my change?