*~Hazel’s POV~*
"Sothing important? Like what?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Cayden drew in a deep breath. His gaze flickered toward the fire before returning to . "I don’t know if I should tell you this... but... I saw sothing today. Soone, rather. Soone who threatened ."
My stomach dropped. Jonathan.
I was sure of it. That damn figure, the one who appeared to —of course it was him. And if he showed himself to Cayden too, at the exact sa ti, then it was no coincidence.
Jonathan was circling us.
Cayden’s jaw tightened. "That’s part of why I ca here tonight. To sleep beside you. To make sure your safety—and our children’s safetyis guaranteed. Sothing might happen tomorrow, Hazel. And I need you to be very alert."
I swallowed, my throat dry. "Tomorrow..."
"Yes." His eyes softened slightly. "Thank the Goddess your womb has already awakened. Soon, Aurora will begin teaching you how to channel spells and everything else you’ll need. Until then, I just want you safe."
He was right. Every word of it. But my bones already felt heavy, my body chilled, as if my strength was slipping away before the battle even began. My lids lowered, weariness tugging at .
And then my mind twisted back to Jonathan.
The mory of his voice, his promise to take , the way he called my babies mystics—it gnawed at my stomach until I thought I would be sick. Tomorrow lood like a stormcloud, and I didn’t know what would happen.
I turned my head toward Cayden. "I’d better sleep," I whispered.
"Yeah," he murmured, lying back. "We both better."
We slipped under the sheets. This ti, he didn’t tug them away from or play at winning dominance. He left the blanket fully in my grasp, as though letting have the victory. But guilt twisted inside . Selfishness.
So, after a mont, I nudged the sheets back toward him, making sure the sound was loud enough for him to notice.
A low chuckle rumbled from his chest.
And before I could stop it, a smile curved across my lips—soft, unbidden, traitorous.
Damn it. What’s wrong with ?
The morning sunlight crept through the curtains and spilled across my face. I groaned softly as my eyes fluttered open. But when I tried to move, I couldn’t.
Oh my Goddess... am I paralyzed?
My breath quickened until I turned my head and realized why I couldn’t move.
Cayden.
His arms were wrapped tightly around , caging in, holding against him as though I were the most fragile thing in the world. The babies’ cradles were right beside us, both of them sleeping soundly. And Cayden’s head rested against my neck, his mouth brushing warm breaths against my skin.
I could barely breathe. Damn it, this man is heavy.
"Get off ," I muttered, wriggling against him. I pushed at his chest until his eyes blinked open.
"Oh, Goddess," he rasped, sitting up. "It’s morning already?"
"Damn," I teased, rubbing my shoulder. "This is the first ti I’ve woken up with you... and of course it had to be on your children’s naming ceremony."
His eyes narrowed in a glare. "Our children’s naming ceremony," he corrected. "And we’re late."
He leapt from the bed and rushed out, leaving staring after him, baffled at his sudden panic.
That’s when I noticed Aurora standing in the doorway, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
"Um... you guys—" she began.
"Yes, I know," I cut her off quickly, cheeks heating.
Her eyes widened, shocked. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She had just walked in on the impossible: Cayden and I in the sa room, the sa bed, and the room wasn’t torn apart. No chaos, no fights. Just... us.
Well—except for the fact that I almost caught a cold
Okay, that’s weird," Aurora muttered, still giving a look. "Anyway, I’ll excite myself first thing—we need to be prepared. Guests have already started arriving. And ah! I’m going to glamor these babies." She bent over the twins, grinning. "By the way... have you two even decided on the nas yet?"
My stomach dropped. Nas.
"Oh, Goddess," I groaned, smacking my forehead. "We’re terrible parents. Cayden and I spent the entire night in the sa room, and we didn’t even talk about nas. What kind of parents are we?"
Aurora laughed under her breath, but I could already feel the panic rising in my chest. I had ideas, sure, but leaving it entirely up to Cayden? Absolutely not. Knowing him, he’d co up with sothing ridiculous. I’d have to catch him before the big mont.
Aurora clapped her hands together suddenly. "Oh, and look what I have here—" She lifted a dress from its wrapping and held it out dramatically.
My stomach flipped.
The red dress.
The sa red dress Cayden had brought yesterday. The one he claid was for his mother.
My breath caught. My heart pounded as Aurora’s eyes sparkled with delight.
"Oh my Goddess. This... this is stunning. Even more beautiful than the one Caspian got you."
I froze, face heating. "Did Cayden... bring it for you?"
Aurora’s grin widened like she’d caught red-handed. "Oh my God. He really did!"
"No, no," I stamred, shaking my head too quickly. "It’s for his mother. He—he just forgot it here."
Aurora arched a brow. "Huh? No. Elder Anna already has her dress. In fact, I just ca back from Glamorina Hall. I saw it. She’s set. That’s not hers."
"But he said—"
"He lied," Aurora said flatly. "Izul, wake up. He brought this for you. He probably saw Caspian’s gown for you and panicked, so he pretended it was for his mother. Elder Anna never said a word about Cayden getting her a dress."
My throat went dry. "Maybe... maybe he wanted to surprise her," I said weakly.
Aurora folded her arms. "Are you blind, or are you just pretending? He brought it for you."
I swallowed hard, staring at the dress. The red fabric shimred like fire, bold and magnificent. My fingers twitched, aching to snatch it from Aurora’s hands, to slip it over my skin, to glamor myself into the center of every eye tonight.
But I couldn’t.
"No," I said finally, forcing the word past my lips. "I can’t wear it. Caspian already brought a gown, and he’s expecting to wear it tonight. I’ll wear his."
Aurora shrugged lightly. "It’s your decision. But you could just tell everyone Cayden gave this to you, and no one would question it."
I shook my head, even as my heart scread differently. "No. I’m wearing Caspian’s."
But as Aurora carefully folded the red gown away, my chest ached.
Because deep inside, I wanted it. I wanted to wear it, to step into that hall radiant in crimson, to let the world’s gaze follow .
And turning away from that desire hurt more than I cared to admit.
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