Elira stood at the edge of the Blackwood estate’s terrace, the wind tugging at her silk robe, dawn bleeding across the horizon like a promise and a warning.
Behind her, the world was shifting. Men were moving. Papers were being signed. Deals and legacies and wars were all being stirred in her name.
She didn’t feel small anymore.
She felt like fire.
Damien stepped out with two mugs of black coffee. Shirtless. Tired. And hers.
He handed her one.
“She’s not going to stop,” he said.
“I know.”
“We’ll have to end it.”
Elira turned to him, the sunlight casting gold into her eyes. “Then let’s stop playing defense.”
He arched a brow. “You ready for that?”
“I was born ready. I just forgot who I was.”
He pulled her in by the waist, kissed her temple. “Then let me reintroduce you to yourse
