Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The corridors of Emberfall were dark and quiet, the soft crackle of torches the only sound besides Rhydian’s heavy footsteps behind me. His presence loomed like a shadow, all heat and tension, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge.
“I don’t like this. Today was a mistake,” Rhydian growled from behind me, his voice rough and biting.
I stopped in my tracks, spinning to face him, my skirts swirling around my ankles. “You don’t like anything, Rhydian. What now?”
His dark eyes met mine, blazing with an intensity that made my breath catch. “He treated you…like…like you were something to be shown off.”
I folded my arms, arching a brow. “I don’t see the problem. The people loved it. Ciaran was trying to show unity. Strength. That’s what kings do.”
“That’s not what he was doing, and you know it,” Rhydian snapped, his tone low and sharp, like the scrape of a blade. He took another step forward, towering over me, and the heat of him was suddenly overwhelming.
I blinked, stunned by the raw edge to his voice, the way it dragged something deep and aching out of me. “I am his seventh wife, Rhydian,” I said, quieter now, though the words felt hollow in my mouth. “It’s not like I had a choice.”
His jaw tightened, his eyes flashing with something dangerous. “You’re more than a wife,” he said, his voice lowering into a rough growl. “But you let him reduce you to that.”
I straightened, my pulse hammering in my chest. “And what do you expect me to do? Refuse him? Run off and rebel? I’m doing what I have to. I’m playing the long game. Ciaran is the key to taking down the Dragon King, and he can protect me from Icespire.”
Rhydian’s hand twitched at his side like he wanted to reach for something—me, maybe—but he didn’t. “What about what you want to do? What about what you deserve?”
I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “What I deserve doesn’t matter anymore. Not in this life. Your precious queen ensured that.”
His expression darkened, the frustration rolling off him in waves. “It matters to me,” he growled, stepping closer until there was barely a breath of space between us. His voice dropped lower, rough and desperate. “You deserve to be seen, Elara. Not just as a wife, not just for what you can offer, but for you. For who you are.”
The words struck something deep inside me, and I hated how much I wanted to believe him. My voice wavered as I said, “And you think he doesn’t see me? That he doesn’t value me?”
Rhydian’s eyes flashed, sharp and wild, and before I could take another breath, he closed the distance between us, his presence swallowing the space like a storm. His voice was a low snarl, raw with barely-contained rage. “No. He doesn’t see you. He doesn’t even care to. All he sees is something to control, something to feed his ego.” His jaw tightened, the words ripping out of him like they hurt to say. “And the way he puts his hands on you—” He broke off, his fists curling tight at his sides, his entire body taut with fury. “I want to rip his damn limbs off.”
The breath hitched in my chest, the ferocity in his voice cutting straight through me. “Why?” I whispered, the word trembling out of me before I could think better of it.
His eyes burned into mine, raw and unflinching, and when he leaned in closer, his breath was ragged, like he could barely contain himself. “Every time I see him touch you, every time he claims you as his, I want to kill him for it.”
My chest tightened, the air between us crackling with tension that felt too heavy to hold. “Rhydian…”
“Don’t,” he growled, his voice trembling. “Don’t say my name like that. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I whispered, my heart hammering so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
“Like you want me to do something about it,” he rasped, his eyes burning with so much yearning it made my knees weak. “Because I want to, Elara. More than you know. And I’m this close—” He broke off, his jaw clenching as he struggled to keep control of himself.
“What’s stopping you? Your loyalty to the queen?”
Rhydian laughed, bitter and broken, the sound tearing from his throat like it hurt. His hand dragged through his dark hair, his fingers curling into it as though he was trying to steady himself, to find some kind of control. He took a half-step back, but it wasn’t enough to stop the tension, the heat between us that burned brighter with every breath.
“What’s stopping me?” he repeated, his voice rough and jagged, as if he hated the words even as he said them. “No matter how badly I want to take you away from all of this, I can’t.”
Rhydian’s jaw tightened as though he were wrestling with the truth, trying to stop it from slipping free. But then his eyes met mine, dark and unrelenting, and I saw it—the moment he gave up the fight, the moment he let the truth tear through him.
“Every time I think I’ve got a handle on this—on what I’m supposed to do—you show up in my thoughts, and suddenly nothing makes sense anymore.” He shook his head, his hand twitching at his side like he wanted to reach for me but couldn’t. “You’ve consumed me. You’re in my head when I wake up. When I close my eyes. And no matter how much I try to push you out, you’re there—like you’ve carved yourself into me without even trying.”
The confession hit me like a blow, and I stared at him, my breath catching in my chest as he took a step closer, the heat of him overwhelming.
“You’ve made me question everything, Elara,” Rhydian continued, his voice breaking slightly as his jaw tightened. “The queen. The orders I’ve followed without question my entire life. The lines I swore I wouldn’t cross. Every single one of them feels meaningless now, because all I can think about is protecting you. Keeping you safe, no matter what it costs me.”
My chest tightened, his words cutting through the air between us like a blade.
“And that terrifies me,” Rhydian admitted, his gaze locked onto mine, dark and unrelenting. “Because I don’t know how to be this. How to care about someone more than my duty. More than the mission. But ancestors help me, Elara, I can’t stop. I’d defy everything I’ve ever known—everything I’ve ever been—if it meant keeping you out of harm’s way.”
The weight of his words hung in the air, heavy and scorching, and I felt my pulse quicken, my breath catching as I struggled to process the fire in his voice, the depth of what he was saying. He wasn’t just admitting he cared about me. He was admitting that I had the power to unravel him.
“I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in a long damn time. And it’s killing me, every second, to keep pretending like I don’t.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding so hard it was a wonder he couldn’t hear it. The way he looked at me—it was fire and torment and yearning all at once, and it was impossible to look away. “Then stop pretending.”
“No.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight with the weight of everything he was saying, the yearning in his voice, the unrelenting fire in his gaze. “Rhydian…”
“Don’t,” he growled, cutting me off, his voice cracking under the strain.
But then he shook his head, dragging his hand over his jaw like he was trying to scrub the truth out of himself. “I shouldn’t even be saying this.”
I arched a brow, the heat in his words sparking something reckless in me. “Then why are you?” I asked, my voice sharper now, laced with challenge. “Why not just walk away, Rhydian? Go tell your precious queen that I’m obeying orders. You’re so good at that.”
He flinched, the tension in his shoulders tightening further, but his gaze didn’t leave mine. “Don’t push me, Elara,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.
“Why not?” I stepped closer, the words slipping out before I could think better of them. “Afraid you’ll break? Afraid you’ll lose control?”
His jaw clenched, his fists curling at his sides. “I said don’t .”
The heat between us felt like a live wire now, sparking and volatile. “You seem so sure of yourself, so in control. Prove it. Show me you can walk away.”
I felt something shift—his magic, subtle but powerful, wrapping around me like an invisible force. It was intimate, insistent, like a whisper against my skin.
“What are you—” I started, but the words died on my lips as the sensation grew stronger, spreading across my body. It was soft, teasing, like a phantom touch tracing the curve of my collarbone, the line of my jaw.
Rhydian’s eyes burned into mine, wild and dark, the mask of control he always wore shattered beyond recognition. “You wanted me to break,” he growled, his voice low and trembling with barely restrained emotion.
The air around me shifted, and the vibrations began—a low, subtle hum brushing over my skin, light as a whisper. It started at the hollow of my throat, gliding down to my collarbone like the trail of an invisible hand. My breath hitched at the sensation, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. It wasn’t just sound—it was him. His magic. His power.
“You feel that?” Rhydian murmured, his voice thick and rough, his words vibrating through the air like a caress. “That’s me. My words. My magic.”
The vibrations deepened, teasing, brushing over the curve of my shoulder and trailing down the length of my arm. The soft hum kissed the inside of my wrist, tracing the racing pulse beneath my skin. The sensations were intimate, deliberate, and maddeningly precise—like he knew exactly where to touch without ever laying a hand on me.
But I wasn’t going to let him win this easily.
“That’s it?” I said, my voice a challenge, though it came out breathless and trembling.
Rhydian’s lips curled into a dangerous smile, his gaze sharpening with something predatory. “Careful, Elara,” he said, his voice low and edged with warning.
The vibrations surged, rippling through the air like a force of nature. The hum pressed against me now, no longer light and teasing but insistent, deliberate. It trailed down my neck, lingering at the base of my throat before sliding lower, curling around my waist and tightening just enough to make my breath catch.
“I can make you come without even touching you. My words can caress. I could whimper and you’d feel it everywhere, ” Rhydian rasped, his voice rough and mocking.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the sound died in my throat as the vibrations intensified. They trailed lower, tracing the curve of my hips, the line of my ribs, skimming over places no one had dared to touch before. They surged between my thighs, teasing my sensitive bundle of nerves. My knees buckled slightly, and I braced myself against the wall, my fingers curling against the cold stone as my back arched involuntarily.
He touched nothing but the air between us, and still, I felt undone.
Rhydian stepped closer, his breath brushing against my cheek as his voice dropped to a whisper, rough and intimate. “You feel that now, Elara?”
My breath hitched, the sound breaking on my lips, and I hated how easily my body betrayed me. The vibrations weren’t just touching me—they were surrounding me, consuming me, like an invisible force pulling me under. I whimpered.
“That’s right,” Rhydian murmured, his words curling over my skin like a promise. “This is what would happen if you were mine .”
The soundwaves moved in maddeningly slow strokes, leaving trails of heat in their wake. It was overwhelming, suffocating, and yet somehow I wanted more.
“Tell me to stop,” he said, his voice softer now, though it trembled with restraint. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”
I swallowed hard, the words caught in my throat. I should have told him to stop, should have ended this before it went any further, but I couldn’t. Instead, I tilted my head back, my eyes fluttering shut as the vibrations deepened, coaxing shivers from places I didn’t know could feel.
“That’s what I thought,” Rhydian whispered, his voice brushing over my ear, low and rough and filled with unspoken promises.
My breath came in shallow gasps now, my body arching instinctively toward a touch that wasn’t there, that I couldn’t escape or lean into.
“And if you think anyone else can make you feel like this…” Rhydian’s voice broke, his breath warm against my skin. “Then you’re fooling yourself.”
I tried to respond, tried to push him away or pull him closer—I wasn’t sure which anymore—but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, a low, involuntary gasp escaped my lips, and I felt him tense in response.
“Say my name,” he growled, the vibrations pressing harder now.
“Rhydian,” I breathed, his name tumbling from my lips, unbidden and shaky, as if the weight of it had been waiting to escape.
His lips curled into the faintest, most devastating smile. “Good girl,” he murmured, his voice rough and dripping with satisfaction. “Say it again.”
“ Rhydian… ”
The vibrations slowed, softening into a tender hum and leaving me aching for more, for a finish line just within reach. My body trembled, my breath uneven, my pulse pounding so loudly it drowned out everything else. Every inch of me still burned with the memory of his magic, and ancestors help me, I hated how badly I wanted him to keep going.
Rhydian leaned in closer, so close his breath ghosted over my ear, sending a fresh wave of heat spiraling through me. “Don’t forget this,” he rasped, his voice low and gravelly, each word wrapping around me like a tether. “Don’t forget how it feels to have me under your skin, Elara. To have me on the edge of doing this—of making you feel like this—every second I’m near you.”
Rhydian’s words hung between us like a lingering flame, his confession carving into me with brutal clarity. “Because I’m there,” he’d said, his voice low and uneven, a raw edge of vulnerability woven into the anger and restraint. “Always. I’m holding back. But you make it impossible. You make me impossible.”
My breath hitched, my body still humming with the ghost of his magic, but before I could speak, the vibrations faded completely, leaving me cold and breathless in their absence. Rhydian stepped back, his chest heaving, his dark gaze locked onto mine. The heat in his eyes made my knees weak, but there was something else there too—something raw and conflicted, as though he was already regretting the moment he’d let himself lose control.
For a moment, neither of us said a word, the silence pressing down on us with all the weight of what had just passed between us. But I wasn’t going to let him retreat this time—not after this. Not after the way he’d made me feel.
“We’re falling for each other, Rhydian,” I said, my voice quiet but sure, cutting through the charged silence like a blade. His gaze sharpened, his jaw tightening further, but I didn’t stop. “And we both know it.”
“Elara—” he started, his tone low and warning, but I cut him off, taking a step forward.
“Don’t,” I said, meeting his gaze head-on, my heart pounding. “When this is over, when the Dragon King is dealt with and the queen isn’t holding your leash anymore, I hope you man up and pick me. For real. Not just the whisper of it.”
His expression flickered, his jaw clenched so tight I thought he might break. For a heartbeat, he just stared at me, his gaze burning into mine with so much intensity I thought it might swallow me whole. “You think I wouldn’t choose you if I could?”
I held his gaze, refusing to flinch, my voice steady despite the way my body still trembled. “Then prove it. When this is over, prove it.”
His throat worked as he swallowed hard, and for a moment, I thought he might close the distance between us again, might finally do what he’d been holding back. But then his gaze flicked to the door behind me, his expression hardening, retreating back behind that wall I’d fought so hard to crack.
I exhaled sharply, pushing down the ache in my chest as I turned and shoved the door open. But when I stepped into the room, I froze.
There, on the bed, was a small package wrapped in dark silk, its edges neat and precise, almost delicate.
I glanced back at Rhydian, my pulse quickening. His entire demeanor shifted, his stance rigid as he stepped forward, his hand immediately falling to the hilt of his sword.
“What the hell is that?” he muttered, his voice sharp and tense.
I stepped closer, my stomach churning with unease. I didn’t need to open it to know who it was from. The dark silk, the unmistakable weight of the atmosphere—it all screamed Valen.
With trembling fingers, I pulled at the ribbon, the knot unraveling easily. The silk fell away, revealing a familiar blue hairpin—the one I’d admired at the market. My heart skipped a beat, and my fingers hesitated before picking up the folded note tucked beneath it.
I opened the note, my pulse quickening as my eyes skimmed over the elegant, flowing script:
You wore that dress well, but this suits you better. I’ll see you soon, Princess. Do try to behave until then—though I enjoy it when you don’t.
—Valen
The words blurred as panic clawed its way up my throat. Valen had been here. In my room. I dropped the note as if it burned me, backing away from the bed, my hands shaking. He’d gotten past the guards. No one had seen him. My heart raced, my breaths shallow.
“Rhydian,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “He was here.”
Rhydian’s face hardened instantly. Without hesitation, he lifted his hand, summoning his echoweaving magic. The air around us shimmered as invisible waves of sound pulsed out, reaching the king, alerting him.
The tension in the room thickened, pressing down on me as I stumbled backward, my mind reeling. How had Valen done it? The guards, the soldiers—none of it mattered. Valen could get in, and he could get to me whenever he wanted.
I hugged myself, pacing in tight circles, the walls of the room closing in on me. Every shadow in the corners felt like a threat, every flicker of the candles reminding me of his words. “I’ll see you soon.”
Footsteps thundered down the corridor, and Ciaran’s voice rang out, directing his soldiers. The door burst open, and Ciaran strode in, flanked by guards, his eyes blazing with intensity as they scanned the room.
He froze for a moment, taking in the scene—the hairpin, the discarded note, the fear etched into my face. His expression darkened, but I caught a flash of something else too. Shock, yes, but beneath it, satisfaction.
“I told you,” Ciaran said. “He’s watching. He’s jealous.”
I stared at him, struggling to understand. Jealous? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was more focused on the fact that Valen had been provoked than the fact that I had nearly been within reach of the Dragon King. “Jealous?” I repeated, disbelief dripping from my voice. “You think this is some kind of victory?”
Ciaran crossed the room, picking up the note from where I’d dropped it. His eyes skimmed over the words, and his mouth twisted into something like a smirk. “This was the point, wasn’t it?” His gaze moved back to me. “He’s coming for you.”
A chill settled over me as his words sank in. “So what now?” I asked, my voice tight with fear and frustration. “You stop parading me around? I’m not your favorite wife?—”
His eyes narrowed. “Says who?”
I ignored his words. Ciaran didn’t even know me. “The Dragon King’s going to come for me sooner or later. You know that.”
The air between us grew heavy. Ciaran’s jaw clenched, his eyes dark with something unreadable. His voice lowered. “Yes,” he said quietly. “He will come for you.”
I swallowed hard, the tension stretching taut between us. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, the power behind his words. Valen wasn’t done. He wouldn’t stop. And now, Ciaran was expecting it.