Page 147 of Emylia

Without another word, Sebastian passed me to Maalikai, his gaze sharp and lingering–more warning than farewell–before he turned and sprinted out of the stables.

Maalikai braced my body like I was incapable of holding my own weight—and in that moment, I was. His arms steadied me, the warmth of his fingers seeping into my skin like sunlight through stone.

“Princess, look at me.”

But I couldn’t. The world spun too fast, my chest locking tighter with each breath. Panic rose, sharp and merciless.

I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’tfeelanything but the cold spreading through me.

“Shit, you’re turning blue,” he said, voice blurred, distant—like I was underwater, like I was already gone. “Stay with me.”

My vision fractured. Color and light bled together like paint in water. I was slipping.

Then his arms folded around me—tight, unrelenting. He pressed my face to the curve of his neck and justheld me. One hand splayed across my back, the other cradling the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair like he could hold me here by force alone.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m right here.”

His voice was soft thunder, steady in the storm. A tether. A promise.

My breath hitched. Then again. The haze thinned—slowly, reluctantly as I drew in more ragged breaths.

“You scared me,” he whispered. “You don’t get to disappear on me. Not like that.”

“It doesn’t matter now anyway, Uncle Thrainn will have no choice, he will have to banish me. I’m going to lose my family. I’m going to lose everyone.” My voice splintered at the words.

“It’ll be okay, he would never banish you. ”

I blinked, barely holding his gaze. “You can’t promise me that I’ll be okay. Uncle Thrainn… he’ll have no choice. No one can stop this.”

His jaw clenched, and something wild flickered in his eyes. “Then let him. If they cast you out, I’ll go with you.”

“Maalikai—”

“No. Listen to me.” His voice cracked, not from weakness, but from how hard he was trying to hold himself together.

“If the world turns on you, I’ll stand between you and its fury. If it forsakes you, I’ll rise in your name. If you’re exiled, I’ll follow you into whatever ruin awaits. Every step. Every breath. I’ll be your shadow, your weapon, your vengeance. I will not let you fall alone. Wherever you go, I go. Until the end.”

He stilled. The firelight caught in his eyes, but there was no color left—only onyx, endless and consuming. The kind of gaze that didn’t just look at me—they caressed something deeper. The weight of them slid over my soul like a promise made flesh. Like his gaze alone could say: I mean every word. The weight of it touched places no hands had ever reached. It was reverent. Undeniable. Like his soul had just sworn itself to mine.

“If the world refuses to see you for the Goddess you are, I will burn it to ash for daring to look away,”he said, voice low, steady. “I’ll walk through flame, through fury, through the end of all things—just to be the one who saves you.” A breath. A tremor in the stillness. “I will be your shadow in the light, your blade in the dark, your shield when the sky falls.”

He didn’t move—but Gods, it felt like he did. And then, his arms tightened around me, pulling me closer like he could shield my soul with his body alone.

“You willneverbe alone, Emylia. Not while I have breath. Not while I have blood to give.”His voice cracked—not with weakness, but conviction. “Even if it’s into Nexus itself.” His forehead pressed against mine. “Always.”

And somehow… that vow, thatfury-laced devotion, did more to save me than air ever could.

My blood ran cold as I heard my uncle’s booming voice. “Emylia.”

Without hesitation, I let Maalikai pull me into him, using his body to support my weight while I faced my fate.

Ignoring the churning of my stomach, I met my uncle’s eyes. “Chief.” I nodded, accepting the fate that was sure to follow.

“Don’t do this, Thrainn.” I barely met Sebastian’s eyes, hearing his voice breaking, tortured my heart.

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