Claimed By Fire And Crown

Chapter 7

No one moved.

The space between them held, tight and controlled, like something invisible had locked into place and neither of them was willing to be the one to break it. I stayed where I’d stumbled back, my weight shifting slightly as I steadied myself, my hand hovering near my side like I wasn’t sure what to do with it.

The man who had grabbed me—who I knew now had to be the one they’d sent—didn’t take his eyes off Rhaegar. His shoulders had shifted just enough to change his stance, less casual now, more deliberate, like he was adjusting to something he hadn’t expected.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said, his voice quieter than before, but heavier.

Rhaegar didn’t answer right away.

He took another step forward instead, the movement slow, controlled, his gaze never leaving the other man. The distance between them shrank by inches, and I felt it again—that shift in the air, the pressure building in a way that made it hard to breathe evenly.

“Leave,” Rhaegar said.

It wasn’t sharp. It wasn’t raised.

It landed anyway.

The other man’s mouth twitched, something like irritation cutting through the edge of his earlier confidence. “You don’t get to give me orders,” he replied, his tone flattening as he squared his shoulders.

“Not usually,” Rhaegar said.

A pause.

Then, quieter:

“But here, I do.”

Something in my chest tightened at the way he said it, the certainty threading through his voice without effort. I shifted again, my foot sliding slightly against the ground as I moved another half step back, trying to keep space between all of us.

Neither of them looked at me.

Not fully.

But I could feel it—the awareness, steady and unbroken, like they both knew exactly where I was without needing to check.

“You think I’ll walk away?” the other man asked, his head tilting slightly as his gaze narrowed. “After everything that’s already been set in motion?”

Rhaegar didn’t hesitate this time. “Yes.”

The answer came without emphasis, without force, and somehow that made it heavier.

The man’s jaw tightened, his eyes flicking briefly past Rhaegar toward the alley entrance, like he was measuring something beyond what I could see. When his gaze returned, there was something sharper there, something that hadn’t been present before.

“You don’t know who you’re interfering with,” he said.

Rhaegar’s expression didn’t change.

“I do,” he replied.

Silence stretched again, thicker now, pulling at the edges of everything until even the faint sounds from the street outside felt distant.

I swallowed, my fingers curling slightly as I forced myself to stay still. My instincts were split, pulling me in opposite directions—run, stay, move, don’t move. None of it made sense, and the longer it went on, the harder it was to tell which one was right.

The man shifted first.

It wasn’t a retreat. Not exactly.

He took a step to the side instead, just enough to change the angle between them, his attention flicking toward me for the first time since I’d pulled free. His gaze dragged over me briefly, slower this time, more deliberate.

“This doesn’t change anything,” he said.

The words weren’t directed at me.

They still landed.

I held his gaze for a second, my jaw tightening, but I didn’t respond. There wasn’t anything to say that wouldn’t make it worse.

His attention moved back to Rhaegar, the two of them holding that same silent line again.

“Next time,” he added.

The threat sat there, unfinished.

Then he turned.

Just like that.

No rush, no backward glance, he stepped past Rhaegar and out of the alley, his presence dragging with him until it finally thinned and faded into the night beyond.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe properly until the sound of his footsteps disappeared completely.

Even then, it took a second.

My shoulders eased slowly, the tension that had been holding me in place starting to loosen in uneven pieces. My gaze dropped briefly to my wrist, where his grip had been, the skin still faintly warm under my touch as I brushed my fingers over it.

Then I remembered.

I wasn’t alone.

I looked up.

Rhaegar was still there.

Closer now than before, though I hadn’t seen him move. His attention had shifted, not away from where the other man had gone, but not entirely on me either, like he was tracking both at once without needing to turn his head.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The silence felt different this time.

Not empty.

Charged.

“You should have stayed inside,” he said finally.

I frowned slightly, the words pulling my attention fully back to him. “You think that would’ve stopped him?”

“No,” he said.

A beat.

“It would have made it harder.”

Something in my chest tightened at that, my arms crossing loosely in front of me as I shifted my weight again, grounding myself. “He said he was expecting me,” I said, watching his reaction. “Tomorrow.”

Rhaegar’s gaze flicked to me properly then, sharper now, more focused. “He was told that,” he corrected.

“That’s not better.”

“No,” he agreed.

The honesty caught me off guard, and I hesitated for a second before pushing past it. “Then what is?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he studied me again, slower than before, like he was looking for something specific. My shoulders tightened slightly under the attention, but I didn’t look away this time.

Not first.

“You’re not what they think you are,” he said.

The words landed wrong.

Not because I didn’t understand them—but because I did.

“I don’t know what that means,” I replied, my voice quieter now.

“I know,” he said.

That didn’t help.

I exhaled slowly, shaking my head once as I dropped my arms back to my sides. “You don’t know me,” I said again, even though it sounded weaker this time.

His gaze didn’t shift.

“No,” he said.

A pause.

“Not yet.”

The way he said it made something in my chest twist again, that same heat flickering low before settling. I stepped back instinctively, putting a little more space between us, even though it didn’t feel like enough.

“I’m not going with you,” I said.

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“Then why are you still here?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“Because you’re not safe.”

The answer came too easily.

Like it was obvious.

I let out a short breath, something almost like a laugh catching at the edge of it before I shook my head again. “I figured that part out already.”

Rhaegar didn’t react to that.

He just watched me.

Waiting.

For what, I didn’t know.

The alley felt smaller again, the space tighter now that the immediate danger had passed but something else had taken its place. Not pressure.

Expectation.

I shifted my weight, glancing briefly toward the alley entrance before looking back at him. “If you’re done telling me what I should’ve done,” I said, “I’m leaving.”

I meant it this time.

Or at least, I tried to.

His gaze held mine for another second, then flicked toward the street beyond, like he was measuring something I couldn’t see.

“You can try,” he said.

Not a challenge.

Not quite a warning.

Something in between.

My jaw tightened.

“I will.”

I turned before he could answer, stepping toward the alley entrance, my pace steady even though my pulse hadn’t quite settled yet.

I didn’t know if he would follow.

I didn’t look to find out.

But I could feel him there.

And somehow, that was just as dangerous.