The forest was quiet, the air thick with tension as Aria and Kael moved side by side on patrol. Since her decision to forgive Nigel, things between them had been strained—tight smiles, unfinished sentences, stolen glances that said everything and nothing.
Kael hadn't said much since that night.
Aria couldn't stop thinking about it.
He was angry. Hurt. But beneath it all, he still followed her, still protected her, even when his pride screamed not to.
She respected that.
They stopped near the edge of a cliff that overlooked the valley. The moonlight bathed the landscape in silver, and for a moment, the world felt still.
Kael finally spoke.
"You forgave him."
Aria didn't flinch. "I did. Because I needed to. Not because I forgot what he did."
He nodded, jaw tight. "And us?"
She turned to him. "There is no 'us,' Kael. Not yet. I'm still trying to understand where we stand."
He stepped closer, voice low and intense. "Then let me make it clear."
Aria's breath caught as he reached for her hand. This wasn't the smooth, strategic Kael she'd met at first. This was the man behind the title—the one who cared too much and hated that he did.
"I've tried to stay patient. I've tried to respect your space. But watching you drift back toward someone who shattered you…" He trailed off, his voice rough. "It's killing me."
Aria looked up at him, her heart racing. "I never promised you anything."
"I know," he whispered. "But I'm still here. Fighting beside you. Standing by you. Loving you, even when it hurts."
Her eyes widened slightly.
He had never said it out loud before. Not like this.
"I need to know," he said, stepping so close she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. "Are you ever going to see me? Really see me? Or am I just the safe choice standing in the shadow of your past?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Aria's voice trembled. "You're not the safe choice, Kael. You're the hard one. You challenge me. You see through me."
He leaned down, brushing his forehead against hers. "Then choose me. Not because I'm here. But because you want me."
Aria's heart was thunder in her chest. Every wall she'd built cracked under the weight of what she was feeling.
"I'm scared," she admitted.
"So am I," he said, and kissed her.
It wasn't soft.
It was full of everything they'd left unsaid—every frustration, every longing, every unspoken truth. When they finally pulled apart, Aria's lips tingled, and her eyes glistened with emotion.
"I still need time," she whispered.
Kael nodded, forehead resting against hers. "Then I'll wait. But at least now I know you're not walking away