Chapter 50

Chapter 50
Kael

The ballroom spun in colour and light, laughter ringing too loudly against the high-arched ceilings. But all I could see was her.

Aria.

She stood at the center of the ballroom, just finishing her dance with the Alpha from the northern highlands. Cassian I believe his name is. A noble with strong bloodlines, no small amount of political ambition, and now, it seemed, designs on the Queen of the Wilds. My Queen.

My wolf was barely contained. Not raging, yearning. Restless. Haunted. I had hurt her not long ago, and in the process, hurt my wolf. Hurt myself. I still couldn't understand why the bond was holding on. I thought I felt it break, but it is like it didn't let go fully. Was that a sign? Or something else? I never really paid much attention to the mate bonds; I never wanted one. Could your second chance mate... be your first? Would she want that?

The moment Dax told me about the attempt on her life, I nearly tore through the palace in search of her. The idea that shecould'vee been taken, hurt, killed, it undid me in ways Ididn'tt know were still possible.

I had rejected her. Not out of cruelty, but cowardice. The guilt of that choice had never stopped festering. And now she was here. Alive. Regal. Unshakable. My wolf screaming that she was mine, ours. But she wasn't.

When her cloak went up in silver fire and she emerged in full... her crown, her mark, her radiance... couldn'tt breathe.

Shewasn'tt just alive.

She was ascendant.

Transformed.

She was more than I had ever imagined and I had spent far too long imagining her. She had plagued my dreams and my waking hours, and I had never even heard her voice until she gave her name to Alpha Cassian. I wanted to hear her say my name.

The eyes that seemed weak and hurt that night were now strong, bold and confident. She was not the same girl I rejected. She held my eyes long enough for me to see that. Know that.

And then she turned away.

My heart twisted.

"Kael"" Dax murmured, his voice calm but firm as his hand gripped my shoulder.""Keep your composure. All eyes are on you""

"I know"" I said through clenched teeth. But it took everything I had not to cross the room.

Cassian spun her slowly, murmuring into her ear. Ididn'tt need to hear the words to know what they were. Promises. Possibilities. Political courtship under the guise of a dance.

Every second I stood still, I felt the bond between us strain and stretch like a cord pulled too tight. She was here. Breathing the same air. Wearingmherfamily'ss crest reclaimed and restored. And I was drowning in everything I had lost and what I still could lose.

A nobleman cleared his throat. Lord Halric. Still speaking of hisdaughter'ss many virtues, as though Ihadn'tt just watched the rightful Queen of this realm walk through the doors cloaked in moonfire.

I gave him a nod. Distant. Polite. Meaningless.

Dax leaned in again."She'ss not here for war""

I shot him a glance.""Youdon'tt know that""

He shook his head.""I saw her face when she looked at you.There'ss fire, yes. Butit'ss not fury.It'ss something else""

I wanted to believe him. But how could we really know?

Cassian dipped her into a final turn and said something that made her pause. Her gaze shifted, just slightly, in my direction. The court watched with bated breath, seeing only surface. A dance. A question. A choice.

But I saw more.

I saw the tension in her shoulders. The flicker of conflict in her magic. The way her crown seemed to burn brighter the longer she stood in the light.

When the music faded, and she stepped away from Cassian, I exhaled likeI'dd been holding my breath since the moment she arrived.

I turned slightly, my voice low.""If I avoid her all night, I look like a coward. If I confront her, I risk too much""

Dax tilted his head.""Maybe you should stop thinking like a king... and start thinking like a malewho'ss finally ready to listen""

He was right. Of course he was.

But what did I say to the womanI'dd never really met? What did I offer her that could ever make up for whatI'dd done? 'dd made a choice that day, on the platform. Driven by fear and duty and the ghost of myfather'ss shadow.

But Iwasn'tt him.

And I would prove it.

Not by demanding.

But by finally, finally seeing her.

I stepped away from the nobles and toward the edge of the ballroom. Toward the place where Aria stood, luminous and alone in the aftermath of a storm only she could command.

Ididn'tt know what I would say.

But I knew I had to try.

Because maybe, just maybe, the goddesshadn'tt made a mistake.

I had.

I reached the edge of the dance floor and felt the hush ripple across the room. The crowd shifted as I stepped closer to her, my boots echoing against the marble, the sound hollow with expectation.

She turned at my approach. Slowly. Gracefully. And when her eyes met mine, silver lightning in the sea of starlight, I bowed.

Deep. Sincere. My first show of respect.

"Your Majesty"" I said, my voice thick with everything I could not say.

Her lips parted, slightly. The room held its breath. My recognizing her with that title told everyone where I stood. I didn't know if that was the right move politically, but I could see it in her reaction that it was the right move for her.

I straightened. Close now. Closer than I had ever been to her. Her scent hit me, wild jasmine, fresh rain, and something deeper. My wolf growled low in my chest, straining toward her. Begging.

She looked at me not like a lost mate. Not like a fantasy returned.

But like a queen.

And yet... shedidn'tt step away.

I extended my hand.

"May I have this dance""

She stared at my hand for a moment. My heart pounded in my ears.

Please don't push me away, give me a chance.

Then, like she heard my plea her eyes softened and she placed her hand in mine.

The bond ignited.

Fire and stars and destiny. My wolf howled.

And for one precious second, the world fell away.