Kaelen’s POV

The ride back was silent.

My hands gripped the leather reins hard enough to whiten my knuckles. The scent of her still clung to my shirt—iron and sweat and something underneath that was unmistakably her. Frost and moonlight. The same scent that had haunted me for years.

I pulled the carriage into the estate’s drive and halted the horses. For a long moment, I just sat there. Eyes closed. Breathing through my mouth so I wouldn’t smell her anymore.

You locked her in a room.

The thought slithered through me, cold and factual.

You pinned her down. You took her things. You locked the door from the outside and walked away.

My jaw clenched until my teeth ached.

She’d looked at me like I was a monster. Those ice-blue eyes—hollowed out, bruised, burning with a hatred so pure it could have cut glass. And beneath the hatred, something worse.

Fear.

She’d been afraid of me.

The woman who’d spent years fighting in underground pits, who’d taken blows that would have felled trained soldiers, who’d earned her survival with blood and broken bones—she’d been afraid of me.

Because I’d made her afraid.

I exhaled. Slow. Controlled.

She was going to run again. She would have disappeared by morning. You did what was necessary.

The justification tasted like ash.

I got out of the carriage and walked toward the front door. The estate was quiet. Soft golden light spilled from the kitchen windows. The porch lamp cast a warm halo over the stone steps.

Normal. Safe. Home.

I turned the handle and stepped inside.

The foyer smelled like cinnamon and warm milk. Someone had left the hall lanterns burning low—amber pools of light stretching across the hardwood floors. From somewhere upstairs, the faint creak of floorboards. The house settling into its nighttime rhythms.

I shrugged off my jacket. Hung it on the hook by the door. My hands were steadier now. The mask was already sliding into place—fitting over the jagged edges of what I’d done like armor over a wound.

"Daddy!"

The word hit me like a fist to the chest.

Lyra appeared at the top of the staircase. Pink pajamas printed with tiny unicorns. Wild black hair falling in tangles around her face. One sock on, one foot bare. Her ocean-blue eyes—her mother’s eyes—were enormous with delight.

She launched herself down the stairs with the reckless confidence of someone who had never been dropped.

I caught her. Scooped her up before she could tumble past the lower steps, and she locked her arms around my neck so tight I could feel her heartbeat drumming against my collarbone.

"Daddy, you were gone forever."

"I wasn’t gone forever, little star."

"Was too." She pulled back to examine my face with the brutal scrutiny only a three-year-old could manage. Her small fingers poked at the shadow under my left eye. "You look tired."

"I am tired."

"Did you fight a dragon?"

"Something like that."

She considered this with the gravity of a high court judge. Then she pressed both palms against my cheeks and squished my face together.

"You need ice cream."

"It’s early morning, Lyra."

"Chocolate ice cream. With frosting. And gummy bears." She held up her fingers very close to my nose. "Because you were gone a lot of hours and that means a lot of toppings."

A sound came out of me—something between a laugh and a breath. The tightness behind my ribs loosened by a fraction. Just a fraction.

"We’ll see."

"That means yes." She grinned, triumphant, and buried her face in my neck.

I held her. Let myself hold her. Let the small weight of her body and the smell of her shampoo—strawberries and sugar—push back the darkness for one more minute.

Footsteps. Measured. Deliberate.

Valerius appeared in the hallway. Eight years old and already carrying himself like a young lord—shoulders squared, chin level, dark gold eyes watchful. His black curls were mussed from sleep, and he wore his dressing gown buttoned to the collar.

"Father." A formal nod.

"Valerius."

He didn’t rush. Didn’t run. But I saw the way his shoulders dropped when he reached me—the tension leaving his body like water draining from a glass.

"You didn’t come home last night," he said. Quiet. Not an accusation. Just a fact, offered with the careful neutrality of someone who had learned to measure his words.

"I had urgent empire business."

"The nanny was worried."

"I know. I’m sorry."

He studied me for a moment longer. Then he gave another small nod, as if he’d weighed my answer and found it acceptable. But his hand brushed my sleeve as he passed—quick, barely there. The gesture of a boy who wanted to reach for his father but was too proud to ask.

I caught his shoulder. Squeezed once.

He didn’t pull away.

"Your Majesty Nightfire." The nanny appeared from the kitchen doorway, wiping her hands on a cloth. Relief loosened the tight lines around her mouth. "I was concerned when you didn’t respond to the communication stone."

"It ran out of charge," I lied. "My apologies for the worry."

"Not at all, Your Majesty Nightfire. The children slept well. Lyra woke once asking for water, but otherwise—"

"Thank you. I’ll take it from here."

She dipped her head and retreated.

Lyra was already squirming in my arms, chanting crepes, crepes, crepes in a rhythmic whisper against my ear. I carried her into the kitchen and set her on the counter while I pulled out ingredients.

Chocolate crepes for Lyra. Blueberry crepes for Valerius.

The routine steadied me. Crack the eggs. Measure the flour. Heat the pan. My hands moved through the motions while Lyra kicked her bare foot against the cabinet and narrated an elaborate story about a unicorn named Sparkle who lived inside the pantry.

Valerius sat at the table. Reading. Always reading. But his eyes flicked up every few seconds to track my movements, as if confirming I was still there.

I flipped the crepes. Stacked them on plates. Set Lyra’s in front of her with extra chocolate chips arranged in a smiley face because she would cry if I forgot. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

I let them finish their breakfast in peace. Once their plates were mostly clear, I sat down between them and took a breath.

"I need to tell you both something."

Lyra’s legs stopped swinging. Valerius closed his book entirely. His dark gold eyes locked on mine.

"There is someone very important who has been away for a long time," I said. Each word was chosen with surgical precision. "This person is going to come stay with us soon."

"Who?" Lyra demanded.

"Someone you’ll meet when the time is right. But I need you to understand something first." I looked at Valerius. Then back at Lyra. "This person is very sick. And very weak. And very scared. They’ve been through something difficult, and they need time to feel safe again."

Valerius’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. He was old enough to read between lines.

"So when this person comes," I continued, "I need you both to be patient. Gentle. Can you do that?"

Lyra nodded solemnly. "I’ll share my gummy bears."

"That’s very kind, little star."

Valerius said nothing. But his gaze held mine—searching, sharp, far too perceptive for his age. After a long moment, he nodded once.

"Good," I said, offering a reassuring smile.

Once they were completely finished eating, the children ran off to the living room to build a large Lego castle with dragons. I watched them for a moment, letting the mask of a caring father fully secure itself.

Then I walked into the hallway, pulled the door half-shut behind me, and reached for my communication stone.

It pulsed twice before the connection opened.

"Kaelen." Sir Cassian’s voice came through low and alert.

"Double the guard at the hotel," I ordered. "Every exit. Every window. No one enters that room without my direct authorization."