C H A P T E R F O U R
C H A P T E R F O U R
Altair
G ods, the fury.
It is a living thing, a serpent coiling around my heart, squeezing tighter with every breath. An unrelenting blaze, burning through every fragile thread of decency I still cling to. I can feel it in the thundering pulse at my temple, in the darkness crawling up my throat, threatening to choke me with its bitterness.
He touched her… he laid his filthy fucking hands on my wife.
The audacity of it… the sheer, reckless audacity.
I have been gone too long it seems, allowing the Lords to become complacent. The council feels different now, the air thick with their arrogance and unchecked ambitions. My absence, however necessary, has come at a cost. King Sovran's forces had sparked a skirmish to the southeast, a calculated move that hinted at more than just territorial posturing.
He knew.
Somehow, Casius had found out about Olwyn.
The news had reached me swiftly, and the battle had demanded my attention, ensuring that I remained away from the heart of my kingdom longer than I should have. The clash had been fierce, a reminder that Sovran would not stand idly by while I held such a potent advantage. The realization of how precarious my hold on power truly is gnaws at me now.
The lords may have grown bold in my absence, but I will remind them where true authority lies—and that any disruption to my plans, or my claim over Olwyn, will be met with unyielding force.
Every instinct I possess tells me to hunt down Dazeem and finish what I started. It gnaws at the bars of my control, its growl echoing through my mind, threatening to break free. I wanted to let it loose, to let that dark force within me—an ancient, forbidden power—consume him, to strip his flesh from bone until nothing remained of his insolence.
But there’s also a part of me that wants to shield Olwyn from the ugliness of my world. A part that fears what she would think if she saw the true depths of my darkness. I want to keep her safe from the brutality, to preserve her innocence a while longer. To be seen as something other than a monster… not yet. Not by her.
Dazeem is a necessary evil, a linchpin in my delicate political web. He has connections to the vampires in the Faerie real m? —those that live in the Unseelie court. They may not be pureblood vampires, but there are hundreds that live there. And those numbers could always come in useful in the future.
So whilst I let the snivelling coward live, even as he bared his fangs at me, Ailith had gotten such pleasure from handing me her blade to remove his hand.
“I think that went well?” She smirks once she finds me after removing Dazeem from my presence.
I growl in response.
“But not so much with Olwyn, hmm?”
It probably went better than it could have, but I suppose she had been in shock. Shock at being manhandled by a male that would tremble at her feet if she used her power, and for seeing me return to the palace.
Iolas has taken her back to her chambers, yet her scent lingers in the room, a delicate blend of jasmine and something uniquely hers—warmth, perhaps, or the sweet hint of fresh rain on earth. It tightens in my chest, constricting my breath with a heady mix of longing and something darker, a craving that goes beyond a mere thirst for blood. I could practically taste it on my tongue when I had been so close to her. Able to touch her, even if it had been under the guise of checking her injury.
Injury.
The thought sends another wave of rage blasting through me, my shades darkening the room around me.
“Stop that shit,” Ailith commands. “You’ll suck the light from the entire palace.”
I force my shoulders to relax, taking another deep inhale of the remaining scent of jasmine in the room.
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“I think she actually took your return rather well.” Ailith waves a hand flippantly through the air. “She didn’t scream… or run from the room.”
“I think that was preservation. Iolas has told her not to run from our kind.”
Ailith purses her lips, knowing how strong the hunter urge can kick in. Ailith has always been my confidante, ever since we grew up together. She’s one of the only peopl e? —besides Iola s? —who knows the depths of my darkness and yet remains unafraid. She’s seen me at some of my worst, and still, she stays by my side, offering her counsel with a bluntness that others would never dare.
Under different circumstances, I know she and Olwyn would get along. Because under Olwyn’s fear, I sensed something else... A bravery I had seen that first night I took her. Even though I could sense her unease at my closeness. Could still feel her disgust at the sight of my teeth, which I retracted as soon as I could. But she didn’t flinch, and I still caught her looking.
Her green irises had been so bright… and looking . As if really seeing me.
It makes me want to hide.
It makes me want to hide her from all the cruel truths in the world and the wrenching hurt that could fill her heart.
But I will take her anger. Her hate.
“She’s more rebellious than I anticipated,” I admit, my voice low. “Stronger.”
When she snapped at me, it had taken me by surprise. So brave. So reckless.
“Staying?” she had asked, her voice raising just ever so slightly.
Ahhh. So, she was curious.
And I wanted to know how much.
Ailith raises an eyebrow. “And that surprises you? Did you expect her to be a wilting flower? You took her from her home, after all.”
“I took her to save her,” I snap, turning back to face Ailith. “To protect her from the lies she’s been fed, from the life she’s been forced into.”
Ailith tilts her head, her gaze softening slightly. “And yet, she doesn’t know that does she? She sees herself as a caged bird. Do you think that’s how she should feel?”
My jaw tightens. “No. She is my queen, not my captive. I want her to see that. To embrace it.”
Ailith chuckles softly, running a dark hand over her shaved head. “Without knowing everything? You may need to do more than just tell her that, Altair. She’s not going to believe words alone. Actions, dear king, speak much louder.”
It’s dangerous if she begins to voice the questions I can already see flickering behind her eyes, questions that could unravel more than she’s ready to confront. Yet, that curiosity is also illuminating—it shows me a path into her guarded mind. I noticed how she hesitated when I suggested dinner, how she looked poised to argue, the defiance sparking in her expression. But she chose to hold back, a decision that intrigued me more than I cared to admit.
If she had refused my request for dinner, I would have pressed the matter, not from a need to assert my authority, but from a genuine concern to ensure she was taking care of herself. Her agreement, however reluctant, suggests there’s a part of her that wants to understand me as much as I want to understand her.
I let out a slow breath, running a hand through my hair.
Ailith steps closer, her voice gentler and dark red eyes soft. “She’s been through a lot. You can’t expect her to trust you immediately, especially given the circumstances of her arrival. You need to find a way to show her, not just with words, but with deeds. You’ve only been back a day. Make her see that this can be her home, too.”
“I thought she might have realised that whilst I was away,” I mutter, frustration edging my tone. “But now I’m worried she’ll always see me as her captor.”
Ailith places a hand on my arm. “Then change her perception. Show her something different. Take her outside the palace, let her see what life could be like. How it actually is. Give her a choice, Al.”
I chew on her words, but something gnaws at me, deep in my gut. It's not that I haven't tried to ensure she had comforts. I ordered my men to treat her well, to keep her safe. I gave instructions for her to be respected, to be treated as my queen. Yet somewhere along the way, something went wrong. My absence, my forced detachment from her... it all feels like it’s torn down any chance for trust.
I left her here, alone, with only orders and empty promises. I assumed she'd understand that I couldn’t be there. That I was doing what needed to be done for both our kingdoms. But I failed to realise just how much that absence would weigh on her. I never stopped to think how terrified she'd be, left to navigate a world full of people who might see her as nothing more than a prisoner, just another pawn in this game I never wanted her to be part of.
If I had only been there—if I hadn’t abandoned her in that cold, empty space... maybe things would have been different. Maybe I wouldn't be standing here now, feeling like a stranger to her, watching her resent me for what I thought was her protection.
Ailith is right. If I want to change things, I can’t keep pretending the past is something I can’t fix. I have to take action, to show her that I’m not just a shadow in her life. I need to prove to her that she’s more than just a forced marriage, that she’s more than just a prisoner in this gilded cage.
But how do I undo the damage I’ve done by staying away for so long? How do I make her believe that I’m not the same man who captured her and left her to fend for herself in a place where no one understood what she needed?
I shake my head. “You know what’s out there. How do I show her freedom without letting her go?”
Ailith gives me a small, knowing smile. “Ah, but that’s the trick, isn’t it? Freedom isn’t always about leaving. It’s about knowing you have the choice to stay.”
I turn back to the window, my mind spinning with possibilities. “I can’t let her leave the palace. Not yet. She needs to feel capable, strong. She needs to know she can stand on her own before that happens.”
Ailith nods. “Iolas said she’s improving, and by the Gods she looks better than when we found her. Find ways to push her, to surprise her.”
She’s right. Olwyn has improved since I last saw her, eight moons ago. Her skin, which had been pale and drawn, now glows with vitality. The faint hollows beneath her cheekbones have filled, replaced by a healthy flush of colour that makes her look almost… content. Her body, too, has changed—her figure filling out with strength, no longer too thin for the beautiful clothes she wears.
The clothes that fit her like a second skin, mould to her form, accentuating every curve and line with a precision that borders on the divine. I’ll have to remember to pay Thalia and Sera extra for all the work they’ve put into making her outfits.
But it isn’t just her appearance that strikes me. Her posture is different—more assured, even after all she’s been through. Perhaps it’s the training with Iolas, or perhaps it’s a remnant of the strength she carried in her daily life before I disrupted everything. She holds her head higher now, her shoulders squared despite the burdens pressing down on her, the pressures of being the only human at court, and the trauma of being torn from her home. Yet, there remains that quiet defiance in her green eyes, like a hidden flame refusing to be extinguished.
I need to understand that fire. I want to see how far it can burn.
“I’ll find a way,” I say quietly, more to myself than to Ailith.
“Good,” Ailith replies. “Because she needs to see that you’re her ally.”
I nod, feeling a small spark of hope ignite within me. It’s time to change the game. To show Olwyn that she has a place here, with me.