Chapter 69: The Love and Fear of losing him again

[The Emperor’s Chamber — Continuation — Midnight]

Kael was still standing beside the window; the night wind had finally settled, leaving only the faint movement of the curtains and the distant whisper of the palace beyond.

His amber eyes remained fixed upon the darkness outside; he was waiting for his mate.

Then—

CREAAAAK...

The enormous doors of the Emperor’s chamber slowly opened. Kael immediately turned, and his breath caught.

Lytharion stepped inside; for a moment, neither of them spoke. The Lord of Darkness looked exactly as he had when he had left—the same black robes, the same long hair falling over his shoulders, and the same golden eyes.

And yet...something was different.

His expression remained composed, but there was still a storm burning somewhere behind those golden eyes, a storm Kael couldn’t understand.

"Lytharion..."

The deity’s gaze immediately softened; he looked at Kael for several heartbeats before speaking. "Beloved...why are you still awake?"

Kael didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked toward him, and his gaze traveled over Lytharion’s face, his shoulders, and his hands, searching for wounds, only when he was certain that there was no blood upon him did Kael finally stop.

He looked directly into those golden eyes.

"You left in anger." His voice was quiet. "I was worried about you."

Lytharion became still. Kael’s brows furrowed. "Are you alright?"

For a moment, the Lord of Darkness simply stared at him; his gaze moved over Kael’s amber eyes, his flushed cheeks, and the softness of his lips, and something inside the ancient deity seemed to loosen.

A faint smile touched his mouth as he raised his hand and gently cupped Kael’s cheek.

"My beloved was worried about me..." His thumb brushed slowly beneath Kael’s eye. "That alone is enough to soothe a thousand years of anger."

Kael’s cheeks warmed and was confused. "Thousand years? Lytharion, what exactly happened..."

The deity leaned closer.

"Come here."

He gently took both of Kael’s hands into his own, then he lowered his head and kissed the back of each hand with slow reverence.

Kael’s expression softened. "Where did you go?"

Lytharion remained silent as Kael hesitated to ask.

"And...after Enki told us about the crystal—why did you leave like that?" His fingers tightened slightly around Lytharion’s. "You knew something, didn’t you?"

Lytharion’s golden eyes shifted. Kael noticed there it was again, that shadow behind his husband’s gaze, something ancient and something painful that Lytharion wasn’t ready to speak about.

Kael swallowed.

"Was it some divine deity who attacked me?"

Lytharion’s expression immediately hardened, but before Kael could continue—

"Beloved." His voice was gentle, yet firm. Lytharion lifted Kael’s hands toward his lips again. "Can you trust this husband of yours?"

Kael stared at him. Lytharion’s golden eyes held his.

"There are things I must discover before I place their weight upon your heart." His thumb moved slowly across Kael’s knuckles as his voice lowered.

"But I swear to you...whatever is coming, it will have to pass through me before it reaches you."

Kael’s breath caught. Lytharion stepped closer. "I shall not allow anyone to harm you, not a mortal, not an immortal."

His golden eyes darkened.

"Not even a god."

Kael studied him quietly; the Lord of Darkness stood before him as powerful and terrifying as ever. Yet Kael could see something beneath that strength.

Fear, not fear for himself...fear of losing Kael.

Kael’s expression softened as he lifted one hand and gently touched Lytharion’s cheek. "I know."

Lytharion’s eyes widened faintly. Kael smiled.

"I trust you, Lytharion." The ancient deity went completely silent. Kael continued softly. "Whatever you discovered...whenever you’re ready, you can tell me."

For several heartbeats, Lytharion simply looked at him, then he leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss against Kael’s forehead, his arms slowly wrapped around his husband. Kael willingly stepped into the embrace.

Lytharion held him tightly, not possessively this time but protectively. His fingers moved through Kael’s hair in slow, gentle strokes.

"Just stay beside me, beloved."

Kael closed his eyes against his chest. "I will."

Lytharion’s embrace tightened as his voice became barely a whisper. "Because if someone harms you..."

He paused, and the shadows beneath his feet stirred.

"...I will end everything standing between us."

Kael let out a small, helpless chuckle. "That’s a little excessive."

Lytharion said nothing. Kael lifted his head.

"Lytharion?"

The deity only kissed his forehead again. Kael smiled and rested his cheek against his chest. He didn’t know why his husband had spoken those words with such terrifying certainty, he didn’t know what Lytharion had discovered, and he didn’t know what ancient memory had awakened within the Lord of Darkness.

And he certainly didn’t know that when Lytharion whispered—

"I will never lose you again."

—it was not merely a promise for the future.

It was a vow born from a grief that had already happened once. Outside the chamber, the shadows gathered silently beneath the moon.

And within them...something ancient was waiting.

***

[House Voss — Grey Wolf Estate — Night]

SMACK—!!!

The sound of the slap echoed through the great hall. Cassian’s head snapped violently to the side.

For several heartbeats, nobody moved.

The enormous hall of House Voss remained silent beneath the flickering bronze lamps. The banners of the Grey Wolf Clan hung motionless from the pillars, their silver wolf emblems watching over the scene like silent judges.

Cassian slowly turned his face back as a red mark had already begun forming across his cheek.

His father stood before him.

The Head of the Grey Wolf Clan, an old wolf of immense authority whose name alone was enough to make lesser nobles lower their eyes.

His expression was colder than the winter outside.

"You failed."

Cassian swallowed.

"Father..."

SMACK—!!!

Another slap. Nora’s fingers immediately clenched into fists; she stood several steps away, watching her husband stagger slightly from the force.

Her nails dug into her palms; she wanted to move, she wanted to stop him, but she couldn’t. Not here, not against the Head of the Grey Wolf Clan.

Cassian slowly lowered his gaze.

"I tried."

His father’s eyes narrowed. "You tried?"

The words came out almost as a hiss. "Do you think the Grey Wolf Clan was built upon trying? Do you think the Emperor of Qashmar will fall because my son tried to kill him?"

Cassian’s jaw tightened.

"No."

"Then stop giving me excuses." The older man grabbed Cassian by the collar and pulled him forward. "You were given an opportunity. You were given men. You were given information."

His voice dropped into something poisonous.

"And yet the Emperor still breathes."

Cassian said nothing as his father’s eyes burned. "How many times must you fail before I stop calling you my son? When will you satisfy my soul?"

Nora’s breath caught. Cassian’s expression remained painfully blank; he had learned long ago that defending himself only made things worse. His father released his collar with disgust.

"First, the Emperor survives the political schemes." He began pacing slowly. "Then he survives the attempt during his coronation, and now even assassins sent directly into his chamber have failed."

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"Tell me, Cassian...What exactly are you good for?"

Nora’s heart twisted; her husband stood there silently, bruised and humiliated beneath the eyes of the entire household and all because of one man.

The Emperor.

Kael.

The one who was her fiance before. Nora’s eyes slowly hardened; she knew it wasn’t Kael who had struck Cassian.

She knew it wasn’t Kael who had ordered this humiliation, but hatred rarely cared about reason. Her gaze lowered toward her husband’s trembling hand.

He couldn’t even raise his eyes, and in Nora’s mind, one name became attached to all of it.

Kael.

If Kael had never accepted the throne... Cassian wouldn’t be standing here like this.

The head of the Grey Wolf Clan turned toward his son again. "You will get another opportunity, and this time..."

His voice became almost venomous.

"Do not return to me alive unless the Emperor is dead."

Nora’s eyes widened. Cassian’s face went pale.

"Father..."

The older man’s expression didn’t change. "Fail again, and I will personally strip you of your name, your position, and your place within the Grey Wolf Clan and burry you myself."

Silence.

Then Nora stepped forward.

"Enough."

Every eye in the hall turned toward her. Cassian’s eyes widened. "Nora..."

She stopped, her heart hammered, and the Head of the Grey Wolf Clan stared at her with cold amusement.

"Did you say something?"

Nora lowered her head. "No, Father."

The words tasted bitter as she stepped back toward Cassian; her hand slowly reached for his. Cassian looked at her; for the first time that night, something vulnerable appeared in his eyes.

Nora gently held his hand, but while she comforted her husband...her gaze drifted toward the distant palace towers visible beyond the enormous windows.

Her expression slowly darkened; somewhere beyond those walls was the Emperor of Qashmar. The man everyone believed was untouchable, the man whose survival had brought suffering into her husband’s life, and beneath the cold moonlight, a dangerous thought began taking root inside her heart.

If Kael disappeared... Her fingers tightened around Cassian’s. Perhaps her husband would finally be free.

She did not yet know what she would do with that hatred, but hatred, once given a reason to survive...rarely remained small.

"I shall kill the emperor myself."