"You an... all of them?"
Thalor’s eyes widened as he finally grasped what Auren was suggesting.
"Yes," Auren said calmly. "All of them. The pure ones. The mixed ones."
He paused, then frowned slightly. "I still don’t understand why the marriage was carried out that way. Why your bride was chosen when the heiress of the rmaid clan was right there."
Lucian’s gaze sharpened.
"It never made sense," Auren continued. "So bring them all in. Every branch. Every bloodline." His eyes dimd. "Who knows? They might have hidden your bride among them for reasons they never intended to explain."
Thalor was silent for a mont.
Then he nodded once. Slowly and firmly. "I like that idea," he said.
For the first ti in that damn, exhausting thirty years of waiting, sothing shifted in Thalor’s expression—hope.
Lucian leaned in slightly, lowering his voice near Thalor’s ear. "If you truly believe she might be one of them," he said quietly, "why not test her as well?"
Auren heard it. He turned at once, brows knitting. "You’re risking your own marriage now, Lucian?" he asked flatly. "You know very well... if Seraphina finds out you suggested putting her best friend in danger, this won’t end well."
Lucian didn’t deny it.
"I’m not suggesting recklessness," he replied calmly. "Only the truth. And the truth has a way of surfacing, whether we want it to or not."
Thalor exhaled slowly, gaze distant.
"Careful," Auren warned. "Hope is a dangerous thing when lives are tied to it."
Thalor straightened. "I’ve lived with danger all my life," he said quietly. "If there’s even a chance... I won’t ignore it."
Auren rubbed the back of his neck, clearly trying to untangle the logic.
"But you said testing it, without actually annulling the marriage... won’t cause her death, right?" he asked. "I’ll be honest, I don’t fully understand this whole underworld marriage of yours." He frowned. "If you even ntion divorce or annulnt... is it automatic? Like so kind of trigger?"
Thalor exhaled slowly. "No," he said. "It isn’t automatic."
Lucian watched him closely.
"The Sea Core responds in stages," Thalor continued. "Intent cos first."
Auren’s expression tightened. "Intent?"
"If I say the words... ’I wish to annul this marriage...’ without naming her," Thalor said quietly, "the bond reacts."
Silence fell.
"Pain," he went on. "Not death. Not yet. The Core listens before it decides."
Lucian’s jaw clenched. "And the bride?"
"She feels it," Thalor replied. "Wherever she is. Whoever she is."
Auren went still.
"That’s how I’d know," Thalor said. "The one who reacts... is the one bound to ."
Lucian’s voice dropped. "And if you speak her na?"
Thalor didn’t hesitate.
"Then the Core locks the choice," he said. "And usually... it’s the bride who dies."
"Why?" Lucian and Auren asked at the sa ti.
Thalor let out a short, humorless breath.
"That’s always been the fate of a Leviathan’s bride," he said quietly. "That’s why our marriages are for life. Forever... until death tears us apart."
A crooked smile tugged at his lips, but there was nothing playful in it this ti—only pain.
"I suppose that’s the real reason the rmaid clan sent this bride to ," he continued. "Instead of their heiress."
The words settled heavily.
A marriage ant to bind the sea. And a bride chosen to be expendable.
Lucian ran a hand through his hair and scoffed. "That’s insane." He shook his head, then muttered, half to himself, "I suddenly feel very lucky to be married as a dragon."
Auren shot him a look. "Did you realize," he said calmly, "that you just made him feel worse?"
Thalor’s gaze slid toward Lucian, unimpressed. "Oh, I heard your wife almost died because of you," he said dryly. "So I wouldn’t say you’re that much better off."
Lucian froze for half a second. "That was uncalled for."
"You started it," Thalor replied without remorse.
Auren sighed, rubbing his temple. "Wonderful," he muttered. "Two powerful rulers, centuries old, arguing like children."
Lucian snorted despite himself. "At least my wife is alive."
Thalor smirked faintly, though his eyes were tired. "Yeah," he said quietly. "At least you know your wife is alive."
The words settled between them.
No one laughed this ti.
Auren was the first to look away, jaw tightening as if he’d suddenly realized how deep that line had cut. Lucian’s amusent faded, replaced by sothing heavier. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
For once, there was nothing clever to say.
Thalor leaned back against the stone balustrade of the garden, crossing his arms as his gaze drifted toward the far end of the grounds, where trimd hedges t the open sky beyond the manor walls.
"Do you know what the worst part is?" he asked quietly, not looking at either of them. "Not the waiting. Not the bond. Not even the risk."
Lucian stayed silent.
"It’s not knowing," Thalor continued, his voice low, "whether I’m mourning soone who’s already gone... or abandoning soone who’s still alive."
"Really? Can a rmaid do that?!"
The loud voice from the right side of the garden made all three of them turn instantly.
Near the flowerbeds, Seraphina was crouched beside Vivian, sleeves rolled up as they tended to the roses, while Ena stood nearby holding a small basket of soil. Seraphina’s eyes were wide with surprise, clearly reacting to sothing Ena had just said.
Ena nodded with a gentle smile.
"Yes, my lady. At first, I wondered as well... where this endurance ca from. Then I realized it was inherited from the rmaid side."
"Oh..." Seraphina blinked in fascination, then turned to Vivian with a grin. "That’s amazing. You should try sothing like that too—who knows?"
"Stop it," Vivian groaned, frowning. "You’re ruining my mood again." She shook her head. "I told you, I’m a pure fairy. There’s no way I’m mixed."
"Why?" Seraphina asked imdiately, curiosity lighting her eyes.
"That’s just how this world works," Vivian replied seriously. "Fairies can’t mix with other clans. Especially not rmaids. It’s—no—completely impossible."
She paused, then added dryly, "The only way I’d be a rmaid is if my identity was hidden or swapped at birth, like sothing straight out of one of your novels."
She burst out laughing at her own words, clearly finding the idea ridiculous.
But a few steps away, the three n had gone completely still.
"Fairies can’t be mixed?" Auren repeated quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
Lucian frowned. "That’s... not common knowledge," he said. "I’ve read ancient records, but even those only hint at it."
Thalor didn’t speak.
His eyes stayed fixed on Vivian—not sharp, not judging. Just stunned.
"A hidden identity..." Auren murmured. "If that were true, it would explain a lot."
Lucian’s brows knit together. "It would explain why fairy magic never rejected her," he added slowly. "And why... she could survive in your territory that long."
Thalor finally inhaled, deep and unsteady. "For thirty years," he said under his breath, "I was told sothing like that was impossible."
His fingers curled slightly at his side.
Thalor let out a quiet, almost breathless laugh—one without humor. "Funny," he said softly. "The things hope chooses to hide inside."
Across the garden, Vivian was still smiling, unaware.
And for the first ti in decades, Thalor didn’t feel foolish for wondering... what if.
Reviews
All reviews (0)