Thalen POV
The title hung in the air long after it left his lips.
Princess Sarafina.
He felt the moment it reached her, the moment it detonated behind her eyes, fracturing denial, memory, and the fragile illusion of her human life.
Her pulse spiked.
Her aura flared.
Her breath broke.
And still, she whispered:
"No… please don't call me that."
Thalen had seen countless prophecies unravel, countless rulers rise and fall.
But nothing hit him harder than watching her fold in on herself, trembling like a star forced into a shape too small to hold it.
He wanted to reach out.
He did not.
He could not.
"Forgive me," he murmured instead. "But the world will call you that soon enough. I would rather you hear it from a friend."
Her head snapped up.
"You're not my friend," she whispered. "You kidnapped me."
A blow he deserved.
He inhaled slowly.
Measured.
Steady.
"If I had not intervened, you would be dead," Thalen said. "Or worse…..captured."
Sarafina flinched.
