Chapter 38
Damon
The private chamber was smaller than I remembered. I rarely used this room but the musicians said it had ‘excellent acoustics
Why do I care about acoustics? I wasn’t even sure why I asked her here.
That thought had repeated itself a dozen times since I gave the demand. I didn’t usually second guess myself. But tonight, with nothing but her voice on loop in my soul, I couldn’t stop myself from needing to hear her again.
A single chair had been placed near the hearth, and I sat ramrod straight, arms crossed, posture too tense for someone who’d supposedly requested a song for enjoyment.
Elena’s footsteps echoed just beyond the door, followed by her scent.
I spoke before she knocked. “Enter”
The door opened with a soft creak, and Elena stepped inside.
She wasn’t dressed like she had been at the banquet, no wine–stained finery. Tonight, she wore a simple navy dress, modest and clean. Her hair had been pulled back, though a few strands clung to her cheek.
She looked… smaller somehow. And quieter. But so fucking beautiful.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly.
I studied her. She was tense, every line of her posture wound tight, hands clasped in front of her as though waiting to be reprimanded. Or worse.
I hated that.
“You may begin when ready,” I said instead.
She hesitated, just slightly. But then she nodded and stepped into the open space of the chamber. No piano this time. No musicians. Just her.
Exactly how I wanted it, but for the second time in as many days I was second guessing that decision too.
Elena drew a breath, and when she exhaled, the first note left her lips.
I wasn’t prepared.
Her voice was quieter than at the banquet, less polished, more exposed. Each note trembled at first–uncertain, like she was testing whether she had permission to be vulnerable.
And then… she settled. And everything in me unraveled.
The room faded. The candlelight dimmed to a flicker. All I could hear was her. Not the words. Not even the melody. Just her.
It wasn’t the song. It was the way she sang it. Like she wasn’t performing at all; it was like she had gutted her own heart and was bleeding out.
The sound wrapped around me, dug into my cold heart that I’d locked away years ago. Her voice touched it like it still mattered.
And gods, I didn’t want it to.
Zane stirred sharply. She hurts. She hides it.
I know.
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1007
Chapter 38
She’s not what she pretends to be.
Itensed. I know that too.
But the longer she sang, the harder it became to remember all the reasons I shut her out.
She was nothing like Natalie. I’d told myself that again and again. But something about the rawness in her voice tonight reminded me of the parts Hatalie never let anyone else see. Softness wrapped in armor.
Only this woman didn’t hide behind steel. She bore her pain like it was the only truth she could offer.
And I hated that it affected me.
I watched her closely. The way her lashes lowered on the longer notes. When the final note faded into silence, she dipped her head and stepped back, hands falling to her sides.
I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. Not yet.
Elena’s shoulders remained square, though I could see the cracks forming in her restraint. Her breathing was shallow. Her jaw tight. She was waiting for judgment.
I didn’t give her any.
Instead, I nodded once. “Thank you.”
She looked up, surprised.
I stood and stepped past her toward the door. “That was…that will be all.”
She blinked, barely able to mask the flicker of hurt behind her eyes.
I didn’t stop walking. Because if I did if I let myself feel more than I already had, and I had no idea what to say.
I closed the door behind me with more force than necessary and stood still for a moment, jaw clenched.
What the hell was that? It was just a song. A moment of indulgence. Nothing more.
But I could still hear Elena’s voice. It carved a hollow into my ribs and decided to stay.
Zane prowled beneath my skin, agitated. She didn’t lie or scheme or politic tonight.
No, she hadn’t. Not with her words and certainly not with her voice. Which made everything worse.
I didn’t like being vulnerable. I didn’t like not having the upper hand. And I especially didn’t like that the woman who had begged me for power days ago could now make me feel anything at all.
I turned the corner, moving quickly now, steps echoing along the empty hallway.
And ran straight into Asher.
He leaned against the archway like he’d been waiting, hands tucked into the pockets of his dark formal trousers, that usual smirk barely tugging at the corner of his mouth. But there was no humor in his eyes tonight.
“Your Majesticness,” he drawled.
I stopped. Narrowed my eyes. “Asher.”
He pushed off the wall, gaze flicking briefly toward the closed chamber door behind me. “She’s not crying, so I assume you didn’t bite.”
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16.59 Sun, 1 Jun by G
Chapter 38
“Not that it’s your business.”
“Isn’t it?” He stepped closer. “You summoned her alone. After what happened last night. After you let the Court fear into her.”
I didn’t flinch. “She’s fine.”
Asher’s smirk vanished. “You don’t get to decide that.”
Anger sparked low in my spine, hot and sudden. “Careful, cousin.”
“No, you be careful,” he snapped, the sharpness in his voice cutting through the stone corridor. “You don’t get to throw her away when she’s inconvenient and then expect her to bare herself for you on command.”
“I didn’t force her.”
“No?” He crossed his arms. “You’re the King and knew she couldn’t say
no.”
I stepped forward, the air between us tightening. “If you think to question my authority-
“I’m not questioning your authority,” he said evenly. “I’m questioning your judgment.”
That hit harder than I expected.
”
I knew Asher. Knew when he was poking for the fun of it and when he meant it. And right now, he meant it.
“She’s just a candidate,” I said, quieter now. “You’re reading too much into it.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “She’s not just anything and you know it. That’s why you’re standing out here instead of still in there.”
I didn’t respond. Because I didn’t have an answer that didn’t sound like a lie.
Asher exhaled hard. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you two. I don’t know if you’re trying to punish her or protect her or just make yourself feel better. But whatever it is, figure it out. Because if you keep jerking her around like this, eventually someone else will notice. And they won’t be as forgiving as I am.”
He turned to leave, then paused and looked back over his shoulder. “She matters. Maybe not to the Crown. But stop being such as asshole. Cousin.”
I watched him go, stunned that Asher cared about something other than himself.
And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like the most dangerous wolf in the palace.
I felt like the one being hunted.
