Chapter 45
The court was waiting for her to fail.
Aeliana could feel it the moment she entered the grand hall. The weight of expectation pressed against her skin, thick and suffocating, a storm on the verge of breaking.
She was not supposed to belong here.
Not as an equal.
Not as anything more than a temporary indulgence, a foreign amusement that would eventually fade from Tharx's interest.
But now, she stood before them with a choice that could change everything.
The nobles were gathered, adorned in their ceremonial finery, seated in their usual half-circle of power. Lord Kaelrith was among them, his silver armor reflecting the golden torchlight. He sat tall, composed, as if certain of her answer.
At the far end of the hall, Tharx remained silent on his throne, his expression unreadable.
This was a test.
Not just of Aeliana, but of Tharx himself.
If she accepted the proposal, it would be an easy resolution to the unrest surrounding her presence. She would be tied to a noble house, still within the empire's hierarchy, but removed from Tharx's inner circle.
If she refused
The battle would begin.
Aeliana breathed in slowly, steadying herself before she stepped forward.
Her heart pounded, but she kept her head high.
"I have given Lord Kaelrith's offer due consideration," she said, her voice carrying through the silent chamber.
She could feel Tharx's gaze burning into her, though he remained motionless.
She turned toward Kaelrith, her stomach twisting with the knowledge that what she was about to do would seal her fate.
"But I must decline."
A ripple went through the court, a sharp inhalation of breath from the gathered nobles.
Kaelrith's expression remained composed, but something cold flickered behind his eyes. "Are you certain?" he asked smoothly, though there was no mistaking the edge to his tone.
"I am," she said, holding his gaze.
"And what position do you believe you hold here," he continued, "if not as the wife of someone who can protect you?"
Aeliana refused to let her voice waver. "I do not require a husband to decide my worth."
A murmur of disapproval swept through the hall.
From the corner of her vision, she saw Tharx shift slightly in his seat, the smallest movement, but one that sent a ripple of unease through the room.
She had expected anger.
Expected him to be furious at her refusal to take the easy way out.
But what she saw in his gaze instead was something far more dangerous.
Satisfaction.
Possessiveness.
The realization sent a shiver down her spine.
Kaelrith, still calm on the surface, inclined his head. But his next words were a warning.
"You may believe you have secured your place," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. "But standing beside a king does not make you untouchable."
Aeliana said nothing.
Because she knew the battle had only just begun.
Tharx watched her the way a predator watches something it refuses to let go.
The court had dispersed after the assembly, but Aeliana could still feel the tension thick in the air, the aftermath of what she had done settling over the fortress like a storm cloud.
She had thrown down the gauntlet.
And Tharx had let her.
Now, she stood before him in his chambers, the space dimly lit by the flickering torches on the walls.
He had said nothing since the court session ended, since she had publicly rejected the noble's offer.
Now, he sat in his chair, one arm resting against the table, his gaze locked onto her with an intensity that made her pulse race.
Finally, he spoke.
"You knew what refusing him would mean."
Aeliana swallowed. "Yes."
"You could have taken the offer."
Her jaw clenched. "I could have."
A long silence stretched between them.
Then Tharx stood.
His movements were slow, controlled, but there was something smoldering beneath the surface, something she couldn't name but could feel, thick in the air between them.
He stepped closer.
And closer.
Until the space between them was almost nonexistent.
"You are not one of them," he said, voice low, rough.
"I know," she whispered.
His golden eyes burned, his gaze dropping to her lips for a fraction of a second before snapping back up to meet hers.
Aeliana's breath hitched.
"Then why?" he asked, voice quieter now. "Why did you refuse him?"
She knew what he was really asking.
Why had she chosen to stay by his side?
Her pulse thrummed wildly, the answer unspoken, hanging between them like a blade waiting to drop.
Because you are mine.
Because I am yours.
But neither of them said it.
Not yet.
Tharx's fingers twitched at his sides, as if restraining the urge to reach for her.
Instead, his voice was low, his words a declaration.
"I decide who holds power in my empire." His gaze darkened. "And you are not to be touched."
Aeliana felt her stomach twist, a sharp, intoxicating ache curling inside her.
Because this was not an admission of love.
It was a claim.
A promise.
And a warning.
She forced herself to breathe, to hold his gaze despite the heat pooling between them, despite the fact that if she reached out even an inch, she was certain he would not stop her.
But she didn't.
She couldn't.
Not yet.
Instead, she swallowed, stepping back before she could do something reckless.
She turned without another word, leaving him standing there, rigid with tension, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Later that night, as Aeliana walked through the dim corridors of the fortress, she heard it.
The whispers.
Soft, urgent voices drifting from the shadows of a nearby passage.
"The king is no longer untouchable. If we move soon, we can force his hand."
"The human girl will not last long."
"We must act before he solidifies her place further. Before it's too late."
Aeliana went still.
Her blood turned to ice.
This wasn't just about her anymore.
This was about Tharx.
They weren't just plotting to remove her.
They were plotting to remove him.
And for the first time since she had been taken from Earth, since she had fought her way into a world that did not want her, she realized-
She was no longer just surviving.
She was part of this empire's future.
And if she wanted to keep her place, if she wanted to keep Tharx alive-
She would have to fight for it.