Something More

The silence between them was no longer heavy with past wounds—it was something else now. Something unspoken, yet undeniable.

Seraphine's fingers were still laced with his, her warmth grounding him in a way he hadn't expected.

Kaelith exhaled slowly. "You are not what I expected."

Seraphine tilted her head. "And what did you expect?"

His smirk was faint. "A wife who would obey. A queen who would bend." His thumb traced absent patterns over the back of her hand. "Not a woman who would challenge me at every turn."

Seraphine's lips curled. "And yet, here we are."

He studied her, the flickering candlelight catching the sharpness of his gaze. "Yes," he murmured. "Here we are."

There was no battlefield between them now, no throne, no war—only the two of them, bound by something deeper than duty.

Kaelith reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. It was not a possessive touch, not one of control. It was something far rarer—something gentle.

Seraphine's breath hitched, her pulse quickening.

"Seraphine," Kaelith murmured, her name like a vow on his lips.

And this time, when he leaned in, she did not pull away.

To be continued…

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