Chapter 28:The Bloom of power and Forbidden Desires.

Sophia felt a strange shift in the air as she stood before Sean, his piercing gaze raking over her as if he were assessing more than just her presence. At first, she assumed it was nothing more than his political ambitions driving him—the throne was his true prize, and she was merely a means to an end. But as his eyes darkened with something more than calculation, she realized there was another layer to his attention.

He found her attractive.

She could see it in the way his lips parted slightly, the way his fingers twitched as if resisting the urge to reach for her. Yet, beneath that fleeting desire, there was something deeper, something he himself might not yet recognize. Infatuation. And as time passed, she knew it would only grow into something more dangerous—genuine love. But she would never be his. Not when Lucian owned her heart in ways she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Lucian.

He had been avoiding her lately. Ever since they had arrived at the fae kingdom, he had kept his distance, his restraint palpable in every glance he cast her way. She knew why. The hunger in his eyes whenever he looked at her, the tension in his shoulders whenever she was near—it was taking everything in him to hold back. And she ached for him.

But now, she had another problem to deal with. Sean was stepping closer, his presence overwhelming, his fingers grazing the back of her hand in an all-too-familiar gesture.

"You don't belong to him," Sean murmured, his voice like silk wrapping around her. "You belong here. With me. With our people."

Sophia tensed, pulling her hand away, but before she could respond, a familiar rush of air wrapped around her body. A second later, she was no longer standing in the fae palace. Instead, she was back in the witches' woods, the scent of damp earth and ancient magic filling her senses.

Lucian had teleported her away.

She gasped, whirling to find him standing a few feet away, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his jaw clenched. His restraint was fraying, she could see it in the wild glow of his eyes.

"Don't let him get to you," Lucian said, his voice rough. "He doesn't deserve even a fraction of your attention."

Before she could respond, a sharp pain shot through her back, forcing her to drop to her knees. She cried out, gripping the ground beneath her as an unbearable heat spread through her spine.

Lucian was instantly at her side, his hands hovering as if afraid to touch her. "Sophia?"

Tears blurred her vision. She knew what was happening. Her wings. They were starting to grow.

As the pain rippled through her, something unexpected happened. The land around her—dark and dense, untouched for centuries—suddenly bloomed. Flowers of every color burst from the ground, twisting up tree trunks, vines curling around dead branches and bringing them back to life. The witches who lurked in the shadows of the trees gasped, stepping forward as whispers filled the air.

"She brings life," one of them murmured, awe-stricken.

"She is the heir," another breathed, their voices laced with reverence.

Sophia barely registered their words. The pain in her back was unbearable, and through it all, she could feel Lucian's touch, his warmth grounding her even as his restraint crumbled.

She wasn't sure what terrified her more—the witches watching her in awe, or the possessive, unyielding look in Lucian's eyes that promised she would soon be his in every way imaginable.