The moon hung low—fat, yellow, and unblinking.
The campfire hissed in the quiet between tents. Most of the hundred slept, cocooned in blankets or murmuring dreams of the Ark.
But a few stayed awake, haunted by the shift that had taken hold of the camp.
Because something had changed.
Ares Drakon had returned from the woods with blood on his coat, a monster kneeling at his heels, and silence following him like shadow.
No one challenged him now.
Even Bellamy kept his distance, pride cracked but intact.
And Clarke Griffin couldn't sleep.
She found Ares at the perimeter, sharpening a blade. Steel whispered against stone. He didn't turn, yet she knew he'd felt her coming.
"You're not like the others," she said quietly.
"I know."
"You knew where the river was. You knew about the Grounders—about fights none of us have seen. And Kael…"
She shook her head. "You didn't even hesitate."
The blade paused mid-stroke, then resumed.
"You're not asking questions," he said.
"I'm deciding if you're dangerous because of what you are, or because of what you want."
He set the knife aside and faced her. The fire caught his eyes—reflected, not warmed.
"I want this camp alive," he said. "I want them trained. I want us to survive what's coming."
"And after that?"
A small tilt of his head.
"Then I build something better."
Clarke folded her arms.
"People are scared of you."
"Good."
"That's not leadership. That's control."
"No," he said, stepping closer, voice low. "That's reality. Kindness gets you killed. Compassion isn't strategy. Fear is."
"And loyalty?" she asked.
He held her gaze.
"That's earned."
The air between them tightened. Heat from the fire brushed her cheek; cold night air bit the other. She didn't step back.
SYSTEM PROMPT:Bond Opportunity Detected
Subject: Clarke Griffin
Compatibility 93 % Emotional State — Conflicted → Primed
Trigger — Voluntary contact on subject's terms.
Ares's expression didn't change. The system faded behind his vision, waiting.
"You think just because you fight well and talk like a philosopher-king, people will follow you forever?" she asked.
"No," he said. "I think you will."
Clarke laughed once—quiet, disbelieving—and stepped closer.
"You saved Octavia. You spared Bellamy. And you tamed a creature no one understood."
Her fingers brushed his arm. "That's not nothing."
Her hand lingered.
"Just… don't become the thing you're trying to beat."
He didn't answer.
He leaned in—just enough that the choice was hers.
She didn't pull away.
The kiss was brief. No hunger, no ceremony—only tension turned to understanding, forged by fire and fear.
When she drew back, breath unsteady, her eyes held his.
"Don't make me regret this," she whispered.
Then she left him with the fire and the quiet.
SYSTEM NOTICE:Blood of the Gods — Activated
Subject: Clarke Griffin
Stat Transfer — 12 % of Host Stats Applied
Status — Loyal (Unshakable)
Subject Ability — Battle Insight: enhanced triage, tactical clarity, resistance to panic
Bonded Trait — Decision alignment with Host's perceived best interest
New Skill — Heartlink [Clarke] — Share strategic intent and emotional pulse within 30 m.
Ares exhaled.
It wasn't conquest.
It wasn't manipulation.
It was connection—and power, balanced on the same blade.
The kind of power that didn't need to be shouted to be felt.
He looked back toward the tents.
Bellamy would test him again.
The Grounders would come with vengeance.
And far beyond the treeline, the Mountain waited.
But tonight, the king no longer stood alone.
He was building a court.