Despite their open hostility toward me, none of them did anything reckless.

  Partly because of the Wyrm dangling lazily around my neck.

  And partly because attacking me would lead to political consequences no one present could afford, especially not with two thousand of my men standing barely a hundred feet away, just beyond the iron fence.

  So instead, we were ushered into the mansion, guided through a labyrinth of long corridors until we reached a lavishly decorated dining hall.

  It was the kind of place meant to impress.

  I might’ve appreciated it more if I weren’t being led straight toward the long table dominating the center of the room, where Lady Ceris finally turned her attention to me.

  “Please,” she said coolly. “Take a seat.”

  If not for the frost in her voice, I might have mistaken the words for politeness. But I knew both her and her daughters well enough to understand the truth.

  They would rather skin me alive than entertain my presence for even a moment longer unless absolutely necessary.

  And thank the Goddesses for necessity.

  So we sat.

  Elowen and I sat on one side of the table, our Feralium beasts with us.

  With Elowen, I, and our Feralium beasts on one side, and they on the other, opposite to us.

  What followed was a standoff of awkward silence and staring that dragged on for nearly two full minutes, until some poor maid was finally forced into breaking it by bringing coffee and tea.

  She clearly didn’t want to be there.

  Judging by the atmosphere, her mood matched everyone else's. Everyone’s, that is, except mine.

  I… got to work.

  “Lady Kaelyn,” I said, my voice far more domineering than I had intended, breaking the silence just as the maid was setting a cup of coffee in front of me.

  Perhaps I said it too domineeringly.

  The maid yelped at my sudden words, her hands jerking as the cup tipped, sending scalding-hot coffee straight into my lap.

  Myrsky’s tail narrowly avoided it, snapping away just in time.

  I was not so fortunate.

  “Tch...”

  I hissed sharply, squeezing my eyes shut as pain exploded upward, stealing my breath. Green specks swam behind my eyelids as my body locked up, fists clenched, paralyzed, with my lungs refusing to cooperate.

  And worse than the pain, far worse, was the rage.

  Valen’s rage.

  It was as if his own spirit was returning, making me feel like I was losing grasp over the body, reminding me of the moment I came to this world mid-conversation, while he still had control.

  He was pressing against my thoughts, my instincts, screaming at me to stand, to grab the woman.

  I was doing my very best not to spring out of the damn chair and act on the bastard's instincts.

  For that, I had to numb the pain completely. Drown out the room.

  Only then did the pressure… his pressure, recede enough for me to breathe again.

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  Myrsky asked inside my head, panic lacing her voice.

  I cut her off before she could say another word.

  Even my thoughts sounded cold. Sharp. Angry.

  I barely registered what was happening around me, what Elowen might have been saying, whether the women across the table were laughing, judging, or simply watching.

  I didn’t care.

  In that moment, all I wanted was to end the day right there.

  Fuck work.

  I opened my eyes.

  The maid stood frozen before me, both hands clamped over her mouth. Her chest rose and fell erratically as she hyperventilated, eyes wide with terror.

  She was having a panic attack.

  But in order to keep Valen’s thoughts from surfacing again, I forced myself to look away from her. Instead, I turned my attention to the women seated across from me. Watching. Waiting. Curious to see what I would do next.

  I only met their gazes. Cold. As unforgiving as Valen was.

  “...Forgive me,” I said at last, my voice sharp and controlled. “The road has been long. I need to rest.”

  “The maids will be taking you to your quarters, Margrave,” Ceris nodded, feigning pity. “Our deepest apologies for what happened.”

  I ignored her.

  Rising from my seat, I turned only to Elowen and her floating Angel, giving a single nod to her shocked expression before walking away as calmly as I could manage.

  Because the maid was innocent.

  No matter what Valen whispered, no matter how loud his fury roared, she was not at fault.

  The blame lay elsewhere.

  And despite the innocent act, I knew exactly where.

  The coffee had fallen too quickly. Too evenly. Too cleanly.

  It hadn’t been a mistake. It had been an attack.

  Lady Kaelyn’s control over her gryphon’s mind magic had to be exceptional to pull it off so subtly, so precisely, that even I had nearly missed it.

  But I hadn’t.

  I will remember this, dear fiancée.

  Don’t you worry.

  Both Margrave Thosen and the maid from earlier came to check on me once I was settled in my room, the latter apologizing over and over for something she hadn’t done.

  “It’s fine,” I said when Thosen informed me she would be dismissed from her duties. “There’s no need for such drastic measures over a simple mistake. Let her be.”

  His surprise was obvious, but he still agreed to my words.

  Instead, I requested a healer, because last I checked, apologies don’t mend second-degree burns. Magic does.

  With a nod, a brief report on the situation with my troops, and an even deeper bow from the maid, they both took their leave.

  Only minutes later, there was another knock at my door.

  This time, it was the healer. An elderly man with a green snake coiled loosely around his right hand.

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. Elowen stood silently behind him.

  I sighed deeply and stepped aside, allowing them both inside.

  “Please, remove your clothes,” the healer said casually as he crossed the room and set his bag down on the nearby table.

  “All of them?” I frowned as I closed the door behind them, pointedly ignoring Elowen’s presence.

  “Only the wounded area,” he replied, already pulling out bandages from his bag.

  Unfortunately for both of us, that meant everything.

  I’d already checked the damage to my manhood, mercifully untouched by the grace of the Goddesses. The surrounding area, however, from my upper thighs to the lower half of my abdomen, was another story. The skin was scorched a sickly pinkish-red, hypersensitive to even the lightest touch or the faintest breeze.

  I glanced over my shoulder, briefly side-eyeing Elowen.

  Too late to backtrack now. And I’d be damned if I cared more about my pride than my wounds.

  Any lingering shame had vanished the moment boiling coffee soaked my lap.

  So… here we go.

  After removing my clothes and gently placing Myrsky on the bed, I found myself utterly naked before the world.

  The healer stared openly at the wounded area, clearly shocked, while I did my very best not to look at Elowen, who stood nearby, watching with far too much interest and far too little reaction for my liking.

  Stepping closer, the old man placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “You are lucky,” he muttered, a proud smile forming on his face.

  He was the first person in this world who didn’t seem the least bit afraid of Valen. And for that, and his words just now... I almost wanted to hug him.

  A kindred spirit, one who understood a man’s priorities.

  His work, however, was even finer than his temperament. He healed the burns slowly and carefully, checking in every so often to see if it hurt.

  It did. A lot.

  But each time, I shook my head, watching his hand and the green snake work in perfect unison as I lay on the bed beside a curiously watching Myrsky.

  The serpent glided across the wound, leaving behind a slick, translucent gel, some magical concoction healers reserved for severe cases like burns. Different wounds required different beasts, and different beasts meant just as many specialized healers.

  Every noble house maintained such a team, always on call for accidents… or war.

  This old man was one from Margrave Thosen's team, his practiced touch making quick work of my injuries.

  “All done,” he announced at last, straightening his old back with clear pride. “I’ve left bandages on the table. Keep the area covered for a few hours so the skin can heal properly and absorb the concoction.”

  “Will do,” I said, offering him my hand. “Thank you.”

  He blinked, momentarily surprised, then smiled faintly and shook it.

  “Sleep well, My Lord,” he said, nodding once to Elowen before taking his leave.

  I sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

  Then both Myrsky and Elowen coughed, one in my head, the other a few feet away.

  And I was abruptly reminded that I was still very much naked…

  …and not nearly as alone as I would’ve preferred to be.