CHAPTER 6: THE NIGHT BEFORE WAR.
1063 Words
The palace changed when war was near.
Servants moved quickly through the corridors.
Soldiers crowded the courtyards.
Horses were being saddled beneath torchlight, weapons inspected, armor polished, and messengers sent in every direction.
By midnight, the entire imperial palace seemed awake.
Seraya stood on the balcony of her chamber, watching the preparations below.
Tomorrow, she would ride into battle.
Not as a princess of Valeria.
Not as a prisoner.
But beside the man who had conquered her kingdom.
The thought unsettled her.
A soft knock came at the door.
Before she answered, it opened.
Kael entered.
Seraya turned.
He wasn't dressed as the emperor tonight.
No crown.
No ceremonial robes.
He wore a simple black tunic, dark trousers, and a sword secured at his waist.
His sleeves were rolled to his forearms.
His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and the candlelight softened none of the severity in his face.
He looked like what he truly was.
A warrior.
A dangerous one.
Seraya folded her arms.
"Do you make a habit of entering women's chambers without permission?"
Kael closed the door behind him.
"You're my wife."
"That isn't an answer."
His silver eyes settled on her.
"No."
She raised a brow.
"No, what?"
"I don't make a habit of it."
"Then why are you here?"
He walked toward her.
"Because tomorrow we ride into battle."
"I know."
"And I don't know what tomorrow will bring."
Seraya's expression remained guarded.
"Neither do I."
Kael stopped several feet away.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he said quietly,
"You are my wife."
"There it is again."
"You were given to me when Valeria fell."
"I was taken."
"Perhaps."
His voice remained calm.
"But the empire recognizes you as my wife."
Seraya stared at him.
"And what exactly do you expect from that title?"
Kael's answer came without hesitation.
"You know."
Her face hardened.
"No."
Kael's gaze did not leave hers.
"Seraya."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You may have an empire. You may have fifty-seven wives who obey you. You may have armies large enough to swallow kingdoms."
Her eyes sharpened.
"But you will not have me simply because you decided I belonged to you."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Kael studied her.
He had expected resistance.
He hadn't expected such absolute certainty.
"You think I am asking?"
"No."
"Good."
His voice dropped.
"Then you understand."
He moved closer.
Seraya didn't retreat.
Kael stopped in front of her.
For a brief moment, the distance between them disappeared.
His gaze dropped toward her lips before returning to her eyes.
Seraya noticed.
"Don't."
One word.
Sharp.
Immediate.
Kael remained still.
"Don't what?"
"You know exactly what."
His jaw tightened.
"You are my wife."
"And I am still saying no."
Kael's eyes darkened.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then he lifted a hand.
Seraya's body tensed.
But he stopped before touching her.
His hand fell to his side.
"Very well."
Seraya blinked.
That was not the answer she had expected.
Kael stepped away.
"You will not be forced."
Her shoulders loosened slightly.
"But don't mistake my restraint for indifference."
His voice was low.
"You have my name. You live beneath my roof. Tomorrow, you ride beside me into battle."
He looked at her.
"And one day, you may stop looking at me as though every breath I take is an insult."
Seraya's eyes narrowed.
"Don't count on it."
A faint, almost imperceptible curve touched his lips.
"There she is."
She frowned.
"What?"
"The woman who defeated me twice."
Seraya almost smiled.
"Three times."
Kael's expression changed.
"You remember."
"I remember everything."
He looked at her for another moment.
Then he turned toward the door.
"Sleep."
"I wasn't planning to."
"You will need your strength."
"So will you."
Kael glanced over his shoulder.
"I've survived worse than tomorrow."
Seraya looked at him.
"That's what arrogant men say before battles."
His eyes narrowed.
"And what do you say?"
She answered without hesitation.
"That surviving is more useful than being arrogant."
Kael gave a quiet breath that might have been a laugh.
Then he opened the door.
Before leaving, he paused.
"Seraya."
She looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow, stay close to me."
She frowned.
"I can protect myself."
"I know."
His gaze hardened.
"That's why I want you close."
And then he left.
Seraya stood alone in the candlelit room.
She didn't understand him.
That was becoming a problem.
Across the palace, Kael entered his own chamber.
His chief commander was waiting.
"Your Majesty."
Kael removed his sword and placed it on the table.
"Speak."
"The troops are ready."
"And Dareth?"
"Our scouts confirm the army is exactly where Princess Seraya predicted."
Kael nodded.
"At dawn, we move."
The commander hesitated.
"There is another matter."
Kael looked at him.
"The eastern villages have refused to provide supplies."
Silence.
Kael's expression became cold.
"How many?"
"Six villages."
"Burn them."
The commander bowed.
"Immediately."
Kael turned toward the window.
The commander stopped at the door.
"Your Majesty?"
Kael didn't look back.
"What?"
"The princess."
His voice faltered.
"Should we be concerned about taking her into battle?"
Kael's silver eyes lifted.
"No."
"Because she's inexperienced?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Kael looked toward the distant eastern palace.
"Because she isn't."
The commander said nothing.
Kael's fingers tightened slightly against the windowsill.
He had spent years surrounded by people who feared him.
Kings who knelt.
Generals who obeyed.
Wives who understood that their marriages were transactions sealed by conquest.
Seraya was different.
She had looked into his eyes and refused him.
She had stood before his soldiers without trembling.
She had defeated him with a sword.
And tonight, she had denied him again.
Yet somehow, he respected her refusal more than he resented it.
That irritated him.
He was accustomed to wanting things and taking them.
But Seraya Valen had become the first thing he wanted that he had decided not to take.
Not tonight.
Not by force.
Never by force.
If she ever came to him, it would be because she chose to.
And strangely enough—
Kael found himself wanting that more than conquest.
Outside, the war horns sounded.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Dawn was coming.
And tomorrow, thousands of men would bleed because two rulers refused to kneel.
Kael looked toward the dark horizon.
For the first time before a battle, he wasn't thinking about victory.
He was thinking about whether Seraya would survive it.
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