As we reached the edge of my estate, Queen Louise slowed her steps, her voice velvet-soft and deliberate as she turned to look at me.
“You have knowledge of things our kind cannot allow to be spoken, Endymion,” she said, her words like silk hiding steel. “You will prove your loyalty tomorrow to my mate and me. But now, I ask for your truth… have you sworn yourself to any other of our kind?”
The question lingered in the air like a blade at my throat.
Her kind. Those with divinity in their veins. Bloodlines that built kingdoms, split empires, and shifted stars. I knew then—whatever answer I gave, it would change something between us. And yet… I wasn’t afraid of her.
What mattered most to me was Selene. My loyalty belonged to her—not because she demanded it, but because she had earned it.
