"What?" Aira gasped, her voice sharp and brittle, like glass about to shatter.
A completely shocked expression overtook her face, every feature twisting in disbelief as she pushed at him with frantic hands.
Her palms pressed against the hard lines of his chest, trying to separate him from her, trying to carve space between their bodies as if distance alone could protect her. But her desperate attempt didn't work.
Zyren did not yield. He simply clung closer to her, his arms tightening with all the force of chains forged in steel, making it painfully clear that he had no intention of letting her go.
The strength in his grip was not merely physical—it was centuries of domination, arrogance, and entitlement condensed into the hold of one immortal being.
"I said what I said!" Zyren emphasized, his crimson gaze locking onto her, merciless in its certainty. "You can have a child!"
The words echoed through the air like the toll of a bell, heavy and unrelenting.
