Chapter 69
Chapter 69
The gasp hasn’t even finished echoing before I move.
ผลพ
I don’t give them time. I don’t let the silence grow teeth. The second my veil slips free and Wade’s face goes blank like his soul just left his body, I step forward and take Ariel’s hand.
Firm. Public. Deliberate.
Her skin is cold. Sweaty. She stiffens like she expects me to bite her.
I lift our joined hands so the entire fucking hall can see. The torches along the walls flicker, reacting before
else does. I feel it coil up inside my chest–quiet, controlled, waiting for permission like a loyal blade.
anyone
I give it a sliver.
Light blooms.
Not blinding. Not theatrical. Just enough. A warm, silvery glow seeps between our fingers, soft and steady, wrapping our hands like a blessing deciding where to land.
The hall inhales.
Ariel freezes.
I feel it the second the power flows–her heartbeat spikes under my grip, her fingers twitch like she’s about to jerk away but doesn’t dare. To everyone watching, it looks like the Saintess is doing exactly what she’s always claimed she could.
To Ariel however,
She feels the truth punch her square in the gut.
Her
eyes
flick to mine, pupils blown wide with terror. Oh. There it is. The moment it clicks. The moment she realizes I could tear her open in front of everyone and make the Goddess herself testify.
Instead, I smile.
A calm, polite smile.
The light holds. A breath too long. Long enough to make it undeniable. Long enough for the whispers to ignite like dry grass.
“She’s blessing p>
“By the Moon p>
“That glow p>
I release her hand.
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Chapter 69
The light fades obediently, like it was never there at all.
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Ariel staggers half a step. She covers it with a breathless laugh that sounds brittle up close. Her composure is still standing, but I can see the cracks now. She won’t forget this feeling. Ever.
I turn back to the hall, lifting my chin.
“My thanks to the Saintess,” I say clearly, my voice carrying without effort. “For calling upon the Goddess’s favor tonight p>
Ariel nods beside me, too fast. Too eager. A puppet pretending it isn’t made of strings.
“Let the banquet resume p>
For half a second, no one moves.
Then the musicians scramble like they’ve been whipped. Strings screech before they find the melody again. Conversation stutters back into existence in awkward, overlapping bursts. Chairs scrape. Glasses clink too loudly. Everyone pretends this is normal.
It’s not.
My name spreads anyway. I hear it–low, shocked, reverent, disbelieving.
“Sorin p>
“That’s her p>
“Woodridge’s Luna p>
“I thought she was dead p>
I don’t look at Wade.
I don’t need to. I can feel him like a fucking bruise.
I return to the platform with measured steps and lower myself back onto the throne beside Alaric. The seat is warm. His presence is heat and iron and something feral kept on a leash.
The second I sit, two hands extend toward me.
Cassian’s comes first–casual, open, like he’s offering to help me down from a carriage instead of into a political minefield. His mouth quirks like he knows exactly what he’s doing.
Alaric’s hand snaps out a heartbeat later.
The temperature drops.
“Touch her again,” Alaric says mildly, without looking at Cassian, “and I’ll remove the hand p>
Cassian doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t retract it either. He just raises a brow, amused as hell. “Worth the risk p>
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Chapter 69
I snort before I can stop myself.
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I glance at Cassian, give him a brief smile–acknowledgment, gratitude, warning all in one–and place my
hand in Alaric’s.
His fingers close instantly. Possessive. Claiming. Satisfied.
Cassian chuckles and steps back, hands up. “Enjoy the dance, Your Majesties”
Alaric doesn’t reply. He’s already standing, pulling me up with him, his grip firm at my waist as he guides me down the steps.
The crowd parts.
Not politely. Instinctively.
We step onto the floor, and I feel it shift–the air, the focus, the unspoken understanding that something important is happening and no one wants to be in the way.
As we move, my gaze lifts.
Wade is still standing where I left him.
He hasn’t blinked.
His mouth is slightly open, eyes locked on me like if he looks away, I’ll vanish again. He looks… wrecked. Not angry. Not proud. Just hollowed out, like the past finally caught up and sat on his chest.
Good.
Alaric’s hand tightens at my waist. He leans in, his mouth brushing my ear, voice low and dangerous and very aware of where Wade is standing.
“Eyes on me,” he murmurs. “You’re mine p>
A shiver runs down my spine. Not fear. Recognition.
I turn my head, meeting his gaze. His eyes aren’t just red tonight–they’re alive, burning with possession and something softer he refuses to name. He looks unfair. Illegal. Like he knows exactly how much space he takes up in the room and enjoys every inch of it.
“Dance, then,” I say quietly. “King p>
His mouth curves.
The music swells, and he pulls me in.
The first step is slow. Grounded. His palm spreads against my back, solid and sure, guiding without asking. I follow easily. Muscle memory. Years of court training don’t vanish just because your life burns down.
The room watches.
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Chapter 69
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Every turn is measured. Every glide deliberate. I feel the brush of fabric, the warmth of his body, the faint scent of smoke and steel that clings to him. My breathing evens out with the rhythm.
I look past his shoulder again.
Wade hasn’t moved.
Alaric notices.
His jaw tightens. He dips his head closer, his words a warning wrapped in velvet. “I said eyes on me p>
I do.
The world narrows to the circle of his arms, the sound of our steps, the way his thumb presses once into my side like a reminder I’m here, now, alive.
The song ends.
Applause breaks out–hesitant at first, then louder, relieved to have something acceptable to do with their hands.
The floor loosens. People drift back into motion.
Alaric doesn’t let go.
His hand stays at my waist. Too long. His posture stiffens, attention locked on me like the rest of the room just… vanished.
I shift closer instead of pulling away.
Reach up.
Straighten his collar.
My fingers smooth the fabric at his throat, adjusting the insignia with practiced ease. It’s intimate without being obvious. Familiar without being inappropriate.
I lean in, lips near his ear. I could feel him shiver underneath me and there’s nothing absolutely better than commanding someone you know could absolutely crush you into pieces,
“You need to circulate and make connections,” I murmur as I run a hand through his hair. “Acknowledge the Alphas. Ask about trade routes. Pretend you enjoy politics p>
He growls softly, low enough only I hear it.
“I don’t want to,” he mutters as he clenches his jaw, A smirk forms on my lips as his hand clenches on my waist, not wanting to let go. Oh, what a big baby.
I smile and plant a kiss on his forehead. “I know, I know.” I hush, “Do it anyway p>
He hesitates and I tilt my head, my voice dropping another notch. This time, it comes with another promise.
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Chapter 69
“Behave,” I add lightly, “and as I told you, I’ll reward you later p>
That gets him again. It always does. A beast promised with food is a beast determined.
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His grip loosens just enough. He exhales, slow and controlled—although that same control, I can already feel it loosening with every breath I take near him. Is this really how I affect him? Alaric then straightens, the King sliding back into place like armor snapping shut.
“You know better than to lead me on,” he growls, those crimson gaze sending shivers in me. I could feel every bit of hair on my body stand up at the authority he exudes. Just when I thought I’d tamed a beast, he shows himself up to tell me who really holds the leash.
“I love that you listen,” I reply.
His mouth twitches and with his large hands, I close my eyes as he roams my face, the friction of our skin touching sends me into overdrive. He’s running the back of his fingers on my cheek as though he treats it as a reverend. I look down at him with the same intensity burning from every inch of me.
I clench my grip on his shoulders just so my knees wouldn’t give out at his every touch, “Tell me Your Highness…” I murmur, breathing ragged. It’s as though he’s fucking me with that glorious stare—eating up every bit of me with passion as hot as the warm from his palms.
I lean my cheek on his touch and with both hands I grip his on my face, planting a soft kiss that’s barely touched his palms. “Are you worshipping me?” I whisper. A slow smirk forms on his face as he pulls my waist so close to his, that his face is inches from my stomach as he sits on the throne and I sit on his lap.
“I do.” He murmurs and blood seemed to have rushed even faster at his confession. “After you, nothing was ever enough.” He adds and that was enough for me to conclude that I may have fallen deeper into the abyss I thought I knew the end of.
We turn back toward the hall together, composure restored, tension coiled and waiting as I lead him to where the Alphas are.
And somewhere behind us, I can still feel someone staring holes into my back p>
I turn to see Wade from the corner.
Let him watch.
This isn’t his story anymore.
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