Chapter 24
Kai
The room stilled around us, the weight of every gaze on me as the King of the Dusk Court took a bite of something that the newcomer among them had placed in my hand.
Hannah’s lips pressed together, barely holding back a smile. Her eyes were bright, fixed on me, watching for a reaction she would pretend not to care about.
And that look… unraveled more of me than the kiss had.
Grease touched my tongue first, unfamiliar enough that I almost rejected it on instinct alone.
Then the flavor followed. Toasted crust. Salt.
The tangy edge of melted cheese softened into something deeper, richer than it had any right to be.
Warm. Simple. Disarmingly good. The kind of thing meant to be eaten without thought, without ceremony.
Something that belonged to a life untouched by courts and war.
“I hope it’s not too embarrassing for you.”
I chewed, swallowed, and kept my expression carefully neutral because the entire room waited for my judgment, but my focus had already shifted back to her.
She watched me with an emotion in her gaze I’d never seen before. It wasn’t defiance or challenge, like her norm.
It resembled hope.
The gold in her eyes caught the light, and her grin was unguarded. There was no edge to it, no armor, only the quiet offering of something that mattered to her. Something simple and real.
Something of herself.
And she wanted me to like it.
Something in my chest gave way.
I set the remaining piece onto the nearest plate without breaking my gaze, stepped forward, and closed the distance between us in a single movement. My hands came up to her face, fitting there as though they had always belonged, and then I kissed her.
Her breath caught, soft and startled against my mouth, and it drove the rest of the world further away.
Her lips parted beneath mine, and I took the invitation, deepening the kiss just enough to feel and taste her.
The faint salt and warmth from the food lingered, mixing with something that was unmistakably her.
Something that tightened low in my chest and pulled harder than any instinct I’d ever followed.
Her fingers caught in the front of my coat, gathering the fabric as she leaned into me.
That nearly undid me entirely.
The bond surged in response, not subtle, not patient, demanding more than I was prepared to give here, now, in front of an entire court that would read my every action, looking for weakness, for claim, for war.
I dragged in a breath through my nose, slow and measured, and forced myself to pull back before I lost what control remained.
Cool air hit my mouth in contrast to the warmth I’d left behind. Awareness returned in fragments. The press of bodies around us. The faint crackle of the fire. The weight of attention, no longer curious but certain.
There would be no mistaking what she was to me now.
Her lashes lifted slowly, her eyes finding mine. Color had risen along her cheeks, her lips still parted, her breathing unsteady. For once, she had no immediate retort, no remark waiting at the edge of her tongue.
My hands remained where they were, framing her face and unwilling to let her go. Nothing in this realm had ever felt more certain or more dangerous. But that changed nothing, especially now.
Mine. I wanted to tell her the truth, complete our bond, and never let her go again.
The truth settled deep that she was mine to protect and guard. Our bond was old and true, blessed by Fate herself. A recognition that had nothing to do with titles or politics and everything to do with the way the world seemed to narrow to her when she stood this close.
But I wouldn’t reveal it to her here. Not like this.
Not surrounded by an audience that would twist the moment into something else before the night was through. She deserved better than that. More than a declaration turned into spectacle, more than a moment shared with an entire court leaning in to witness it.
I had chosen the place and prepared it and ensured it would be hers and mine alone.
My jaw tightened as I forced myself to release her, though my hands lingered a moment longer than they should have before I let them fall.
“Acceptable,” I said at last, my voice steady again, though it carried lower than before. “Though I suspect your methods have scandalized half my court.”
A flicker of emotion returned to her expression then, quick and bright, and I allowed myself the smallest shift of my mouth in response.
Tonight was not finished.
“So…” She bit her lower lip as she looked up at me, lashes lowering and lifting again. “Does this mean you like grilled cheese?”
A quiet breath left me before I could stop it. That was what she chose to ask. Of everything between us, of everything I had just done, that was where her mind settled. I dragged my attention from her mouth with effort and met her gaze.
“Yes.” I let the word land, then added, quieter, “Though I find I prefer the chef.”
My thumb traced the line of her jaw, slow and deliberate, and the hitch in her breath was answered by my own. The urge rose to tell her now so I could close what still remained between us and be done with restraint.
My mouth opened.
A melodic chime cut through the ballroom, causing everyone to go silent.
The sound carried from the staircase, slicing through conversation and drawing every head upward. My shoulders locked, and my attention shifted past Hannah before the echo faded.
Olen stood at the top of the staircase with one hand still lifted from where he had struck the railing.
His posture held, but strain threaded through it, visible in the set of his shoulders.
His coat was askew, and his hair had escaped whatever order he usually imposed on it.
His gaze swept the room, searching, calculating, before settling.
“Your Majesty and honored guests—” His voice carried, his speech a fraction too quick at first, then steadying. “If I may have your attention.”
Even the musicians stilled.
He clasped his hands behind his back. “We’ve received confirmation that the conditions in the sky have shifted. The phenomenon will begin earlier than expected, and it should be… exceptional tonight.”
Something flickered across his face and was gone. “If you would join us on the northern plateau, we’ve prepared a viewing there. It will offer the best vantage. If the king approves the timing adjustment.”
Movement rippled through the crowd at once as they all turned to me.
I didn’t move.
My attention returned to Hannah, grounding itself there. Earlier than planned by hours. “What do you want to do, Hannah of Tennessee?”
Her eyes widened, and warmth moved through her expression. She liked being asked.
Her attention flicked toward the staircase, assessing, and something in me stilled before she looked back at me.
“I’d love to see the falling stars.”
My grip on her hand tightened, anchoring the decision. “Then you will see them.”
I lifted my head, letting my voice carry this time. “To the northern plateau.”
The crowd reorganized, flowing toward the staircase, the room’s energy surging with it. I guided Hannah forward without releasing her, keeping her at my side as the air cooled and currents from the open passages slipped through the hall.
Olen remained at the top of the stairs, relief easing the tension from his shoulders as we approached. “A wise choice, Your Majesty. You will not regret it.”
“I don’t know,” Hannah said lightly. “I might find a way to make him regret it.”
A low sound left me, more breath than response. “Enough.”
Her hand remained in mine as though it belonged there.
We moved through the archway and into the open air.
Night spread above us, vast and unbroken, streaked with faint threads of light that drew quiet reactions from those ahead.
The path along the eastern wall had been lined with frost flowers, their pale crystalline petals catching the glow and scattering it beneath our steps.
They brushed the hem of her gown, leaving fleeting traces of cold that vanished as quickly as they formed.
The wind cut sharper here. I shifted closer to Hannah, angling my body to take the worst of it, the contact of my shoulder against hers brief but deliberate.
Her fingers tightened once in mine.
The path curved north, stretching along the wall before narrowing toward the ascending steps carved into the ridge. Voices softened as we walked, attention lifting toward the sky, anticipation threading through the crowd.
My focus narrowed to the warmth in my hand and the presence at my side.
Mate.
I exhaled, at peace with the steady pull that had been there from the beginning and that I could finally embrace.
I ran through it again, the speech I had shaped and reshaped over the last several days. Where I would stand, how I would say it, and how I would ensure she understood exactly what she was to me and what that meant.
The staircase rose ahead, cut into the stone and wrapped in climbing strands of pale lavender dusk flowers. Their glow lit the ascent in soft intervals, each step catching the light as we climbed.
The chilled air thinned, carrying the distant rush of wind over open stone. The sounds of the palace fell away behind us, replaced by the low murmur of the gathered court and the hum of magic woven through the wards.
I felt them the moment we stepped onto the plateau, layered and reinforced until their presence thrummed through the air like a second pulse. A steady pressure beneath my skin, familiar and unyielding.
I swept my gaze along the perimeter, taking in each position. Guards stood at measured intervals, their silhouettes unmoving against the dark, each one in place.
Gavriel anchored the far edge, his broad frame unmistakable even in low light, his attention sweeping the gathered court in slow, deliberate passes before catching briefly on me. A single nod followed.
Secure.
The wards held. No disruption. No distortion. Nothing out of place.
And yet the tension at the base of my spine did not ease.
Olen moved along the outer edge, checking placements and speaking to a few of the stationed guards, ensuring the arrangement held as intended.
My attention shifted outward again, tracking the line of the ridge as it curved along the plateau. The stone formed a natural barrier, breaking the worst of the wind before it reached the gathered court, though beyond it the land fell away into unbroken dark.
No visible threat, but that didn’t mean there was none.
I turned back to Hannah and guided her away from the densest part of the crowd, toward the space I had prepared. The circle of dusk flowers lay slightly apart, their pale petals catching what little light there was and holding it against the ground in a soft, muted glow.
“Are we watching in a special place?” That familiar edge of mischief threaded her tone.
My gaze lifted briefly to the sky. Clear. Still. The stars were bright but unchanged.
Too still.
My grip on her hand tightened as I drew her into the circle. The flowers shifted beneath our boots, releasing a faint shimmer that clung to the stone and brushed the hem of her gown.
Then I turned to her fully.
Both of her hands came into mine, and the moment they did, the buzzing exploded between us. The wind curled around us, tugging strands of her hair loose and carrying the scent of frost and distant firelight—beneath it, a softer scent, unmistakably hers.
Magnolia and apricots.
She stood close enough that I could feel the heat of her through the layers between us, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
Her head tipped as she looked up at me, and my hands shifted to her waist.
The contact sent a jolt through me, her warmth immediate, steady, anchoring in a way nothing else in this realm had ever managed to be. Her breath caught, and her hands hovered for the briefest moment before settling against my chest.
I drew her closer.
The space between us disappeared entirely, her body aligning with mine. Her gaze dropped to my mouth and returned, slower this time.
“Careful.” She teased, but her words were barely above a whisper. “You keep doing that, and people are going to talk more than they already are.”
“If anyone still has doubts, they are willfully blind.” The roughness in my voice wasn’t there on purpose, but around her, I always edged closer to losing control.
Her lips curved, and one brow lifted. “Doubts about what exactly? We still haven’t actually talked.”
I moved one hand higher on her back, tracing the line of her spine, feeling the tension she carried there and her strength beneath it.
“No,” I said, my voice lower now, steadier by force. “But now is the moment. Hannah of Tennessee, your arrival in my kingdom occurred at the worst possible time. The last thing I wanted when I found you was a distraction of any sort, especially one so beautiful and so tempting.”
Her brow furrowed. “I’m not sure whether you’re complimenting me or insulting me.”
“Perhaps both.” A faint laugh escaped my lips, my breath frosting in the air. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and I’m done fighting. I love you, Hannah, and you are my—"
The ground shuddered beneath my boots, and a violent crack split the night. Fire erupted from the center of the castle and exploded along the inner walls, roaring and blasting outward in a violent surge that sent stone and flame into the sky.
Hot air rushed around us, the force of it slamming into my chest and knocking the breath from my lungs as I wrapped myself tightly around Hannah and tried to shield her, summoning both my magic to wrap around us and protect her.
Her face pressed into my chest as I held her tight.
But where I sought my magic, only the traces of night magic within me responded, the dusk magic now a raw and empty void.
An uncomfortable, sickening warmth spread through me as even my night magic weakened.
Nausea coiled in my gut. How could I protect Hannah?
We had missed a traitor, and now all of the dusk magic was gone.