LOGINNolan crossed the courtyard toward Elmund, Gianna following close behind him. The guard straightened immediately upon their approach, his hand moving to his chest in a formal salute out of pure habit.“Your Majesty,” he said. “Lady Gianna. Is everything alright?”“I won’t argue with what my wife just proposed,” Nolan said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Elmund, you’ve served me faithfully for years. Sacrificed more than any man should have to give up in service to another. It’s time you finally took what I offered you weeks ago.”Elmund’s brow furrowed slightly, confusion flickering across his features. “Your Majesty, I don’t understand—”“Go find your woman,” Nolan said simply. “Build the life you deserve. I release you from your duties, effective immediately.”For a moment, Elmund simply stared, as though he couldn’t quite process what he was hearing. Then something shifted in his expression, a warmth breaking through his usual composed exterior.“I already found someone I love
Nolan’s expression tightened at her words, and he shook his head slowly, pulling back just enough to look at her more directly.“Gianna, this isn’t a simple matter,” he said. “The laws against Faes have existed for centuries. Even if I wanted to change them overnight, the council would never agree to such a drastic shift. They’re already unstable after everything that happened while I was unconscious. Introducing something this controversial now could shatter what fragile order remains.”“You’re being selfish,” Gianna said, her voice sharpening despite her attempt to remain calm.Nolan blinked, clearly not expecting such a direct accusation.“You have the power to end this,” she continued, sitting up straighter, pulling slightly away from him so she could meet his eyes properly. “You could issue a decree stopping the killing of Faes. Right now. Today. You have that authority, Nolan, and instead you’re hiding behind excuses about council approval and political stability.”“It’s not tha
Just as she expected, Nolan found her within minutes, his expression concerned as he approached her in the quiet corner of the garden.“Is everything alright?” he asked, taking her hands gently in his own.“Yes,” she said, though the weight in her chest suggested otherwise even as she spoke the word. “I need to talk to you about something important. But not here. Somewhere quiet, away from all the music and celebration.”Nolan’s brow furrowed slightly with worry, and he immediately turned as if to head back toward the courtyard. “I’ll have them end the celebration early, if that’s what you need.”“No,” she said quickly, catching his arm. “Don’t disrupt everyone’s joy for this. We can simply go somewhere else. Just the two of us.”He studied her face for a moment longer before nodding, understanding settling into his expression even without full explanation. “Where would you like to go?”“The lake,” she said softly. “The one you took me to before.”Something flickered across his face a
After the nap, Gianna felt more like herself than she had in weeks, though exhaustion still lingered somewhere beneath the surface of her renewed energy. They rose together and made their way to the dining hall for a late lunch, and it was there that Gianna truly began to understand just how deeply the news of Nolan’s recovery had spread throughout the pack.Servants moved through the corridors with lighter steps, smiles breaking across faces that had carried worry and grief for so many weeks. Guards stationed at various posts nodded to them with genuine warmth as they passed, some even offering quiet blessings or words of relief. The entire palace seemed to hum with a different energy entirely, joy replacing the heavy dread that had settled over everything since Nolan’s collapse.Only the council members who had aligned themselves too closely with the idea of Nolan’s death remained conspicuously absent, their earlier eagerness to bury him and select a replacement now standing as an u
Iris raised a hand in farewell, her form already beginning to grow fainter in the moonlight, the portal’s glow reflected in her eyes as pure joy replaced the centuries of grief that had weighed her down for so long.“Go,” Iris said softly. “Go home, Gianna. Your family needs you now.”Gianna wanted to say something more, wanted to properly thank the woman who had guided her through this impossible journey, who had sacrificed her own peace for so many years to help set right a wrong that had never been hers alone to bear. But her body had reached its absolute limit. Every muscle screamed in protest, her strength drained so completely that even lifting her head felt like an impossible task.She managed a small nod, tears streaming down her face as she watched Iris’s form dissolve into that shimmering light, disappearing entirely into whatever peace awaited her beyond the veil separating the living from whatever came after.Then Gianna was alone in the clearing, the moonlight casting lon
“My soul will finally find rest,” Iris continued, her voice trembling with the weight of centuries finally reaching their conclusion, “once I set Nolan free from this curse. And no child born from his bloodline will ever be affected by it again. Not your children, Gianna. Not any generation that follows after them.”The words struck Gianna with unexpected force, and she found herself blinking back tears of her own. She hadn’t realized, until this very moment, just how deeply the fear had been buried inside her, the quiet terror that her own child, still growing within her, might inherit this same terrible affliction that had plagued Nolan’s bloodline for so many generations.“I was so afraid,” she admitted quietly, her hand drifting protectively to her stomach. “I didn’t even let myself think about it directly, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept wondering if my baby would suffer the same fate. If I would have to watch my own child slowly poisoned by something neither of us c
Cyrus followed Gianna to her room."I'm coming with you," he said.Gianna opened her wardrobe and started pulling out dresses. "No, you're not.""It's improper for a married woman to have dinner alone with the King. I'm your husband. I should be there."She held up a dark green gown, examining it.
The day came and went. Nolan sat in his chambers, watching the sun move across the sky.There was no sign of Gianna.He couldn't go to the healer, not in this condition. His legs were weak and his vision blurred at the edges.He couldn't send Elmund either. Another visit to Valemont would start rum
Gianna dressed quickly, pulling on a dark cloak that would help her blend into the night.She was halfway down the stairs when Cyrus appeared.He stood at the bottom, watching her descend with narrowed eyes."You're in a hurry," he said.Gianna kept walking."I asked you a question." He stepped int
Nolan stared at her, completely thrown.He'd expected anger when she came here. He'd even expected her to demand an explanation for why he'd issued the declaration without consulting her. He'd expected arguments about boundaries and agreements and the limits of their arrangement.He hadn't expect







