"Some powers do not awaken with fury, but with love, and once awake, they cannot be silenced."
The evening air in Alaric's chambers carried the weight of unspoken words. Candles burned low, their flames casting amber halos across the stone walls, the glow wrapping the space in warmth that did little to soothe the knot in my chest. Alaric sat across from me on the edge of the bed, his frame bent slightly forward, forearms braced on his thighs, head bowed as though the King of the Northern Kingdom had finally found something heavier than crowns or kingdoms.
The silence stretched, thick and restless, until it became unbearable. My hands fidgeted in my lap, Black rumbling under my skin with steady insistence, tell him. I drew a breath, gathering the courage I had been dodging since we returned to the chamber.
"Alaric," I whispered, "there's something I haven't told you yet."
