Morwenna's POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Even long after he left the chamber.
Even long after the candles melted down.
He didn’t touch me.
Not once.
But I felt branded all over again.
Not by claws, or blood, or court ceremony—but by words.
“I want you to want it.”
They echoed in my skull.
Not cruel.
Not kind.
Just honest.
Too honest.
When I returned to the breeding chambers, the others looked at me differently.
Not with pity.
Not entirely with fear.
Curiosity now.
Suspicion even.
Even Sabine gave me a glance that stayed too long.
“What happened?” she finally asked that morning as I sat at the water basin, scrubbing at skin that felt too warm, too awake.
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
Because nothing happened.
And that was what terrified me.
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