The words slipped past his lips, quiet but fierce, as if dragged from a place he had never dared to reach before.
Blazar's breath caught. Her fists clenched tighter, knuckles going white. She turned her head away sharply, but her shoulders trembled despite the defiance in her posture.
And Kaelric, for the first time, looked less like the Ice King and more like a man about to shatter.
Silence stretched between them. Only Blazar's ragged breathing filled the space, harsh and uneven.
At last, she lifted her head. Her eyes—still sharp though red-rimmed and glassy—fixed on him with that familiar fire he'd come to recognize. She wiped her face roughly with the back of her hand.
"Fine," she muttered, her tone dripping with reluctant surrender. "I'll go with you. But you don't get to push me around. How about that?"
Kaelric's gaze softened for the briefest flicker of a second. He gave a single, slow nod.
