Chapter 4
296 Words
Gasps rippled through the court as Ava collapsed, but Kaelen moved before anyone else. He caught her gently, cradling her against him with surprising ease, and didn’t utter a word as he turned and strode out of the hall.
No one dared follow.
He carried her through the golden corridors of the palace to a high, sunlit chamber — once meant for a queen long gone. The maids opened the doors and hurried away at his glare, leaving them alone in silence.
He laid her on the bed, brushed a damp lock of hair from her cheek, then stood there — for a long time — watching her sleep.
She had every reason to hate him.
And yet, something inside him whispered that this time, maybe he could make things right.
⸻
That night, Ava dreamed.
She stood again in the burning halls of her childhood castle — fire l*****g the tapestries, screams echoing from corridors long collapsed. Her father’s crown lay at her feet, cracked down the center. She ran through smoke, calling out for her mother, her brother — but no one answered.
Then the flames parted, and Kaelen stood there. Not as he was now, but younger — the boy she once laughed with under starlit balconies during peacetime. He reached for her, but the dream twisted, and his hand turned to ash in hers.
She woke with a start.
Sunlight streamed through tall windows, golden and unfamiliar. She was in a soft bed, covered in silks too fine for a prisoner. Her heartbeat quickened. Her shoes were gone. Her sword, long lost. No guards at the door.
She stumbled from the bed, rushed to the doors — locked.
Ava turned, eyes darting around, desperate for something familiar.
That’s when she saw him.
- Writer
