Chapter One Hundred One - Unspoken Truths
The afternoon sun hung low as Eira moved quietly through the garden paths, the air warm and fragrant with blooming jasmine. She needed space. After everything that had erupted between her and Kalen the night before, the palace walls felt too close, too watchful.
She rounded a hedge and came to a sudden halt.
Caius was already there.
He stood beside a small fountain, his arms crossed loosely, eyes distant as if he’d been lost in thought. When he saw her, his expression didn’t harden. If anything, it softened.
"Eira," he greeted, nodding once. "Didn’t mean to interrupt."
She hesitated, caught off guard by his calm demeanor. They hadn’t spoken since her release from the dungeon.
"You’re not," she said, her voice quieter than she intended. "I was just... walking."
He stepped forward and gestured to the path. "May I join you?"
A beat passed. Then she nodded.
They walked in silence for a while, the gravel crunching beneath their feet.
Finally, Caius spoke. "I owe you an apology. Not just for how everything went down—but for not being honest with you from the start. I should’ve told you the truth about how I felt about Cass. I should’ve said I could never love you the way I love her. But I was so blinded by duty, by the bond, I convinced myself I could make it right by forcing something that was never real between us."
Eira’s throat tightened. "I wasn’t exactly blameless," she said, but her voice was shaky, uncertain. The bond she’d shared with Caius still twisted inside her, clouding her judgment, making her question everything. A part of her still believed he was hers—still clung to the idea that he would come back to her, that their bond meant something unshakable. But now there was Kalen, and something deeper, rawer was unfurling inside her. A new bond—undeniable, terrifying—was forcing the old one to loosen its grip. She was caught between them, and the war inside her was growing louder by the day.
He looked over at her. "Maybe not. But I could have handled it better."
She nodded once, appreciative of the rare vulnerability in his tone.
"Can I ask you something?" he said after a moment.
She glanced at him warily. "That depends."
He gave a dry smile. "Kalen. Is he your mate?"
Eira stopped walking.
The garden grew impossibly still.
She didn’t look at him when she answered. "No. He’s not."
It came out too quickly, too defensively.
Because if she said it out loud—if she admitted that Kalen was her mate—then she’d have to accept that Caius never would be. And part of her still couldn’t let go of that hope.
Caius didn’t respond right away. His gaze lingered on her, searching her face with quiet suspicion. He didn’t believe her—not entirely—but he let it go.
Instead, his tone shifted, low and firm. "Cass trusts you. That’s not something I take lightly. But I know you, Eira—and I know part of you still thinks this ends with me choosing you. So let me be clear: don’t use Cass as leverage. Don’t hurt her just because you’re angry at the gods, or the bond, or me. She’s been through enough already."
Eira flinched, but said nothing.
And they walked on.
Eventually, they reached the edge of the gardens where the path forked. Caius gave her a final glance—cool, guarded—and turned the other way without another word.
Eira stood there for a long moment, her heart pounding for reasons she couldn’t name. She needed air. She needed to be alone.
But she wasn’t.
"Interesting timing," came a smooth, low voice from behind her.
She spun around.
Alder stood beneath the arbor, arms crossed, an all-too-knowing look on his face. "So, what was that with Kalen? A distraction? Or did he actually get under your skin?"
Eira bristled. "It’s none of your concern."
"Oh, it’s very much my concern," Alder said as he stepped closer, his tone darkening, voice dipped in false amusement. "Especially after how far we’ve come. You don’t get to back out now just because you’re catching feelings for your new little mate. Or did Caius's pity touch bring all your old fantasies crawling back?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I never agreed to hurt Cass."
"No," he said with a sneer. "But you did agree we needed to separate her from Caius. We both knew the bond was making him weak, distracted. And now you want to pretend you’ve grown a conscience? Spare me. Don’t act like you didn’t want her gone the moment you saw the way he looked at her instead of you."
Eira’s voice dropped. "I don’t want to do this anymore."
Alder smiled without warmth. "Too bad. Because if you don’t help finish what we started, I’ll tell everyone you were conspiring to get Cass out of the picture. I’ll tell Caius himself."
Eira’s breath caught, fury clashing with panic.
Alder leaned in closer, his breath brushing her cheek like a threat dressed in silk. "Think carefully, Eira. You’re already halfway to losing everything—your bond, your place in this court, your grip on Caius. You’ve got one hand in the fire already. Might as well win something while you burn. Otherwise, I’ll make sure they know exactly what you tried to do to their precious queen."
Then he disappeared back into the hedges, leaving her standing there, shaking.