“I want to believe we still have a choice,” I said firmly, stepping back, my palms brushing what I knew had to be Lorik’s hand behind me. I swallowed. “We might be betrothed for the sake of Rionis, but I will find a way around it.”
Thalen’s expression hardened, not with rage, but with jealousy. The kind of that came when something slipped out of reach for good.
“Is there someone else?” he asked. “Are you hooking up with a lowlife Dragontail?” I stayed silent for a moment too long, anger rising sharp and hot in my chest.
“Any Dragontail has done more to defend this island than you ever have,” I snapped. “Hiding behind the Veil and behind fabricated laws. And even if I were, it is none of your business. Leave, Thalen.”
His mouth tightened. “You’re just like your father. You don’t understand hierarchy or power. Maybe the royalists are right. Maybe you shouldn’t rule.”
The air shifted.
Shadows curled at my side as Lorik stepped forward, no longer hiding his face nor his body. Darkness folded around the three of us, muting the sounds and our bodies from the crowd in the celebration beyond.
“Careful, Sunheart,” Lorik said calmly. Too calmly. “That was a poor choice of words.”
A single shadow rose from Lorik’s hand, stopping just short of Thalen’s throat. Not touching. Waiting.
“Thea is more than capable of ruling,” Lorik continued. “Far more than anyone who has come before her. She cares about people, while you and your court only care about preserving ancient power schemes and obsolete hierarchies.”
The words landed hard against my chest.
I was furious, at his intervention, at him stepping in when I had been holding my own, at the risk of giving Thalen too much insight into us. But beneath the anger, something else twisted in me.
He was defending me, not my title, not my bloodline, not the Kingdom. Me.
Thalen laughed out of shock, eyes wide. “Lorik Draventh,” he said slowly. “So your fuck toy isn’t just a Dragontail but a Moonveil?”
My heart stuttered as Thalen realized the truth between us. Lorik’s shadows had already coiled around his throat, close, waiting, but not yet tightening.
“Lorik, stop,” I said sharply.
The shadows froze.
Lorik didn’t look at Thalen when he answered. He looked at me. “I know you can fight your own battles. But I’m done watching him insult you and pretend he has any claim over you.”
My pulse kicked off.
Thalen’s eyes widened as the realization hit. “So it’s true. That’s illegal. You’ll be cursed, Thea. What are you thinking?”
My mouth parted, but no words came out. I was in shock. Lorik and I locked eyes, and he just smiled.
Lorik’s gaze snapped back to Thalen. “Don’t worry, Princess,” he said quietly. “He won’t remember any of this.”
A portal bloomed open behind Thalen.
Lightning cracked from Lorik’s hand, not wild, not uncontrolled, but precise. It left Lorik’s hand and landed onThalen’s chest, pushing him back to be swallowed through the portal.
I stood frozen, heart pounding, staring at the space where Thalen had been. Then, I looked up to find those silver, bright eyes. I was mad at him for getting in the way, but he knew that already. But above madness, I had a more important question that lingered in my head. “Why?” I asked, and he knew what I was asking. My family had taken so much from him, yet he was defending me and cheering me on to be the right person for the throne. It wasn’t fake. He meant it, and I knew it. He took my golden mask from my face and moved closer to me.
“Because you are different. You care about people for who they are, not what blood is going through their veins, their magical traces, their titles. You are different. You are not cruel, you are fair. You question the rules and want to make new ones,” he said, gently brushing my cheek with his fingers. I closed my eyes for a second to just feel his touch.
“He won’t remember anything?” I asked, opening my eyes again.
“Thalen won’t remember any part of the night after that electric shock. This will be a blackout as if he had too much to drink.”
“I am still mad at you,” I said with an edge of challenge.
“Stubborn as always,” Lorik said, his smile reaching his eyes. His lips hovered so close to mine they almost brushed, his intention of claiming my mouth and me, unmistakable.