p."

  She kissed me again, and this time I kissed her back.

  My mind screamed at me to stop. To push her away. To maintain the walls I'd built so carefully.

  But my body wouldn't listen.

  She pulled me toward her into the room, and I followed like a man possessed.

  -

  The door slammed shut behind us.

  She pushed me against it, her hands already working at my shirt, pulling it over my head. Her palms pressed flat against my chest, fingers tracing the scars there. I sucked in a breath as her nails dragged down my skin.

  "Kaelith—"

  "Don't," she said, her voice rough and desperate. "Don't think. Don't talk. Just... feel."

  I grabbed her wrists, holding them still, trying to regain some semblance of control. "This is a mistake."

  "I don't care."

  She twisted free and kissed me again, harder this time, her teeth catching my lower lip. The sharp sting sent heat flooding through me. She pressed herself closer, her body moving against mine deliberately.

  I groaned despite myself, my hands moving to her hips, gripping hard enough to bruise.

  "That's it," she whispered against my mouth. "Stop fighting it."

  My fingers found the hem of her shirt and pulled it up. She raised her arms, letting me strip it off, and then she was standing before me in the moonlight.

  The scars. The brand on her shoulder. The evidence of everything she'd survived.

  "Don't look at me like that," she said, her voice breaking. "Don't you dare pity me."

  Her chest rose and fell with each ragged breath, the vulnerability of the moment hitting me harder than I expected.

  "I don't," I said, my voice hoarse.

  I reached for her, my hands sliding up her sides. She shivered, her eyes fluttering closed, and I felt my body respond to her touch.

  "Fuck," I muttered, pulling her against me again.

  She kissed me slower this time, deeper, her tongue sliding against mine as her hands worked at my belt. I felt the leather give way, felt her fingers fumbling with the laces of my trousers.

  "Wait—" I started, but she silenced me with another kiss.

  "No more waiting," she breathed.

  She pushed my trousers down, and I kicked them off. Her hand found me, and I hissed at the contact—her palm warm and firm against my skin.

  "Kaelith—"

  "You want this," she said, her eyes locked on mine. "Your body's screaming for it."

  She wasn't wrong. My body was responding to her, my hips moving without thought.

  "That doesn't mean—"

  She kissed me again, cutting off the protest, and I gave up trying to argue.

  My hands moved to her trousers, unlacing them, pushing them away. She stepped free, and then there was nothing between us—just the desperate need that had consumed us both.

  I backed her toward the bed, my hands finding every part of her—her waist, her hips, drawing her closer. She gasped at my touch, and I felt the pull of desire between us intensify.

  We fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. She pulled me on top of her, her legs wrapping around my waist, and I felt the heat of her against me.

  "Please," she whispered, her hands gripping my shoulders. "Darius, please."

  I kissed her neck, her collarbone. My hand slid between her thighs, and she was ready for me. I groaned at the sensation of her, my fingers moving slowly, deliberately, and she cried out in response.

  "Yes," she gasped, her hips moving against my hand. "Don't stop."

  I continued, my fingers moving against her, feeling her response to every touch. Her nails dug into my back, her breath coming in short, desperate pants.

  "I need you," she said, her voice breaking. "Now. Please."

  I positioned myself between her legs, ready. Every part of me wanted to move forward, but I hesitated—this moment felt like crossing a line I couldn't uncross.

  "This is—" I started, but she grabbed my face, forcing me to look at her.

  "Don't you dare stop now," she said fiercely.

  I pushed forward, slowly as she gasped, her eyes squeezing shut, and I froze.

  "Are you—"

  "Keep going," she said through gritted teeth.

  I moved into her slowly, fully, until there was nothing between us. The sensation consumed me—her body around me, the intimacy of it nearly unbearable.

  "Damn," I breathed, trying to hold still, to maintain control.

  She wrapped her legs tighter around me, pulling me closer. "Move."

  I did. Slowly at first, then faster, deeper. She moaned, her head falling back, responding to every movement.

  "Harder," she gasped.

  I thrust deeper, faster, losing myself in the rhythm. Her hands clawed at my back, her voice rising in pitch.

  "Yes—God, yes—"

  I could feel the pressure building at the base of my spine, heat coiling tight within me. I was close—too close—but I didn't want it to end.

  I reached between us, my fingers finding her most sensitive flesh, rubbing in tight circles as I continued to thrust.

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  She let out a loud cry, her body arching off the bed.

  "Darius—!"

  The sensation pushed me over the edge—the intensity of it overwhelming.

  For a moment, we just lay there, tangled together, breathing hard.

  Then the memory hit me.

  A bedroom. Silk sheets. The smell of lavender.

  My wife—"Elara!"—smiling down at me in the darkness.

  "I love you," she whispered.

  And then the blade.

  Cold steel against my throat. The sharp, burning pain as she dragged it across my skin.

  Her smile widening into something monstrous. Something evil.

  "Did you really think I loved you?" she said, her voice dripping with venom. "You were always so easy to fool."

  Blood. So much blood. Pouring down my chest, soaking the sheets.

  Her laughter echoing in my ears as the world went dark.

  I jerked back, gasping, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst.

  Kaelith pulled back slightly, her eyes wide. "Darius?"

  "I—" My voice cracked. "I can't—"

  The fear was overwhelming. Paralyzing.

  She was going to kill me. Just like Elara had. Just like—

  "Hey." Kaelith's voice cut through the panic. Soft. Steady. "Look at me."

  I forced myself to meet her eyes.

  "I'm not her," she said quietly. "Whoever she was. Whatever she did. I'm not her."

  My hands were shaking. "You don't know—"

  "I know you're terrified," she said. "I know something happened to you. Something that broke you."

  She leaned down, her forehead resting against mine.

  "But I'm not going to hurt you," she whispered. "I swear it."

  I wanted to believe her.

  God, I wanted to believe her.

  But the fear was still there, clawing at my chest, screaming at me to run.

  "I can't," I said, my voice barely audible. "I can't do this."

  "Yes, you can."

  She kissed me again, gentle this time, and I felt the fear start to crack.

  She held me, steady and present, not asking for anything more.

  And slowly, the panic started to ease. The fear didn't disappear—it never would—but her presence was enough to keep it at bay, at least for now.

  The fear was still there, lurking in the back of my mind.

  But for the first time in years, it wasn't the only thing I felt.

  -

  Afterward, we lay in silence, the only sound our ragged breathing.

  I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing.

  What the hell had I just done?

  Kaelith shifted beside me, her head resting on my chest.

  "Don't," she said quietly.

  "Don't what?"

  "Don't start regretting it. I can hear you thinking."

  I didn't answer.

  She sighed and sat up, pulling the blanket around herself. "I'm not going to apologize for this."

  "I didn't ask you to."

  "Good." She looked at me, her expression unreadable. "Because I'm not sorry."

  I sat up, running a hand through my hair. "This complicates things."

  "Everything about us is complicated."

  She wasn't wrong.

  I stood and started pulling on my clothes, needing to do something—anything—to distract myself from the weight pressing down on my chest.

  She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes flicking to my bare chest before I pulled my shirt on.

  Her face flushed, and she looked away quickly.

  I cleared my throat, yanking the shirt down harder than necessary. "The target is Gareth Silvertin. My uncle. He controls the family's military operations."

  "Right. Military." She stood, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself before reaching for her clothes. "So we can't just—"

  The memory hit me—her nails digging into my back, the way she'd gasped my name—

  I turned away sharply, focusing on buckling my belt. "We can't just sabotage trade routes," I finished for her, my voice rougher than I intended.

  "Yeah. That." She pulled her shirt on, fumbling with the laces. "We need to... to undermine his..."

  She trailed off.

  I glanced at her and found her staring at the bed, her cheeks bright red.

  "His reputation," I said flatly, forcing my eyes back to the wall. "Make him look weak."

  "Exactly." She cleared her throat. "We'll need information. Troop movements, supply lines, anything we can—"

  Our eyes met accidentally.

  The flash came instantly—her body beneath mine, the heat of her skin, the way she'd pulled me closer—

  We both looked away at the same time.

  "Anything we can use," she finished quickly, her voice tight.

  I ran a hand through my hair, trying to focus. "Corvin might have contacts. We should—"

  I stopped, realizing I'd stepped closer to her without thinking. Close enough that I could smell her—sweat and something else, something that made my chest tighten.

  I stepped back quickly, nearly tripping over my boots.

  "Careful," she said, and I heard the slight tremor in her voice.

  "I'm fine." I grabbed my boots and sat on the edge of the bed—then immediately stood back up, realizing that was a terrible idea.

  Kaelith noticed. Her face went even redder.

  "We should... we should go find Corvin," she said, not looking at me. "Now. Right now."

  "Yeah."

  Neither of us moved.

  "Darius—"

  "Don't." I held up a hand. "Just... don't."

  She nodded, biting her lip.

  The memory of kissing her flashed through my mind, and I had to look away again.

  "Let's just go," I muttered, heading for the door.

  -

  The walk to the tavern was excruciating.

  We kept a careful distance between us—too careful. It made everything more obvious.

  Every time our arms accidentally brushed, we both jerked away like we'd been burned.

  "So Gareth," Kaelith said, her voice overly bright. "He's the military pillar. That means—"

  She stopped walking suddenly, and I nearly ran into her.

  "Sorry," she said quickly, stepping aside. "I just... I was thinking about—"

  Her face went red again.

  "About strategy," she finished weakly.

  "Right. Strategy." I cleared my throat and kept walking, my hands shoved deep in my pockets. "He's paranoid. Well-protected. We can't go after him directly."

  "So we make him destroy himself," she said, falling into step beside me—then immediately putting more space between us. "Find his rivals. Feed them information."

  "Yeah."

  We walked in silence for a moment.

  "That was... that was a good plan," she said, her voice strained. "The thing with Torvald. It worked."

  "Thanks."

  More silence.

  "Kaelith—"

  "Don't," she said quickly. "Please. Let's just... let's focus on Gareth."

  I nodded, grateful.

  -

  Corvin took one look at us when we sat down and smirked. "Well, well. Something's different."

  "Shut up," I said flatly.

  His smirk widened. "Touchy. I like it."

  Kaelith shifted in her seat, deliberately not looking at me. I could see the flush creeping up her neck.

  I felt my own face heat and cursed internally.

  "We need information on Gareth Silvertin," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Military operations. Weaknesses. Anything."

  Corvin leaned back in his chair, his eyes flicking between us with obvious amusement. "Gareth's a tough target. He's paranoid, well-protected, and his reputation is solid. You're not going to take him down with a few sabotaged—"

  "We know that," Kaelith interrupted, her voice tight.

  I glanced at her. She was gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white.

  The memory flashed—her hands gripping my shoulders the same way—

  I looked away quickly, my jaw clenching.

  Corvin's smirk grew. "Right. Well, Gareth has enemies, sure, but he also has loyal soldiers who'd die for him. You go after him directly, you'll start a war."

  "I don't plan to go after him directly," I said, leaning forward to focus on the conversation. "I plan to make him destroy himself."

  My knee bumped Kaelith's under the table.

  We both jerked back like we'd been shocked.

  "Sorry," she muttered.

  "It's fine."

  Corvin was openly grinning now. "This is fascinating. Please, continue."

  I shot him a glare. "Every military leader has rivals. People who want his position. We find them, feed them information, make them think Gareth's losing his edge. Let them do the work for us."

  Kaelith nodded, still not looking at me. "That could work. But we'd need leverage. Something big enough to make his rivals believe he's—"

  She stopped, her eyes flicking to me for just a second.

  The memory hit us both at the same time—I could see it in the way her breath caught, the way my chest tightened.

  "Vulnerable," I finished for her, my voice rough.

  "Right. Vulnerable." She cleared her throat. "Something public. Something that makes him look incompetent."

  Corvin watched us with barely concealed amusement. "A failed operation, maybe. Something in front of the kingdom's military leadership."

  I nodded slowly, trying to focus on his words instead of the way Kaelith's hand was trembling slightly on the table. "Can you get us details on his next major deployment?"

  "I can try." Corvin stood, still smirking. "But this is going to take time. Months, maybe."

  "I've got time."

  He studied me for a moment, then nodded. "I'll be in touch."

  He paused at the door, glancing back at us. "You two might want to work on your poker faces, though. You're not exactly subtle."

  The door closed behind him.

  Kaelith and I sat in silence, both staring at the table.

  "That was..." she started.

  "Awful," I finished.

  "Yeah."

  More silence.

  "We should probably talk about—"

  "No," I said quickly. "We really shouldn't."

  She nodded, relief flooding her face. "Good. Because I don't want to."

  "Neither do I."

  We sat there for another moment, the awkwardness thick enough to choke on.

  "We should go," she said finally.

  "Yeah."

  Neither of us moved.

  "Darius—"

  "Don't," I said quickly. "Just... don't."

  She looked at me, her expression unreadable. "We can't just pretend it didn't happen."

  "Watch me."

  I stood and walked out of the tavern, my heart pounding.

  But even as I stepped into the sunlight, I could still feel her touch on my skin.

  And I hated how much I wanted it again.