"Some truths are easier to bear when spoken between kisses."
JUNO'S POV
The night air was cool, crisp, and heavy with the faint hum of magic that always seemed to linger in the Eastern Chambers. The dinner had ended in laughter, a fragile warmth after days of tension. Everyone had lingered, but I had noticed Marcus watching me, his sharp gaze softened in a way he reserved only for me. My heart had done that irritating thing again: skipping, then stumbling, like a drunk soldier trying to march.
I knew that look. So, when the moment came, I slipped away from the garden shadows and felt, more than saw, Marcus follow me. His footsteps were heavier than mine, purposeful, like he did not even care if anyone noticed. We ended up on the far east wing of the chambers, where the moonlight spilled through tall windows and painted silver across the marble floors. No guards here. No council members. Just us, the silence, and the weight of everything we were not saying.
