Page 3 of Beyond the Treaty

Kaelen loves me. I could see it now, in the way his eyessoftened, in quiet pain behind his words. And Azrael… oh, Azrael. I wanted him more than I could bear, his fire, his passion, his defiance of everything I should want in a mate.

Hours passed before I returned to the palace, my emotions numbed, but my thoughts racing. Withers, ever faithful, called out to me as I ascended the grand staircase. I brushed him off with a brief goodnight, too exhausted to face his concern.

In the solitude of my chambers, I throw myself onto the bed, my thoughts a storm of conflicting desires and impossible choices. Kaelen, bound to me by duty and treaty, offered a life of stability and safety. But my heart… my heart aches for Azrael, his fiery soul calling to the shadows within me.

The treaty demanded sacrifice. But love? Love demanded everything.

Lying on my back, I stared at the intricate patterns carved into the wooden beams of my bedroom ceiling. The familiar sight should soothe me, but my mind refuses to let me settle. The night’s revelations replayed in my mind, each moment pressing heavier on my chest. Kaelen loves me. The words echo relentlessly. I saw it in his eyes, heard it in the quiet desperation of his voice. He wants to marry me, to fulfil the treaty’s demands and preserve the balance of our realms.

But I cannot do it. I can’t marry Kaelen. Not because he isn’t noble or worthy, he is all of those things. But because my heart pulls me in another direction, towards someone I can’t have.

Azrael.

My breath hitched as his face filled my thoughts: his fiery eyes that always seemed to pierce through my defences, the dangerous smirk that ignites something wild inside me. He is everything I shouldn’t want: arrogant, impatient, infuriating, but also everything I crave.

The memory of him tonight, his sharp tongue and blazing intensity, lingers. I can still feel the heat of his gaze on my skin, the challenge in his words. My pulse quickens as I imagine sinking my teeth into his neck, tasting the fiery essence thatcourses through his veins, claiming him in a way no treaty could dictate.

The thought sent a thrill through my veins, followed swiftly by despair. Does he think of me this way?

I tossed and turned, tangling myself in the silken sheets. The treaty demanded I married Kaelen, but every fibre of my being rebelled against the idea. Azrael was the one who set my blood alight, who stirred the darkness within me, who made me feel alive in ways I don’t fully understand.

Could Azrael ever see me as more than a pawn in his precarious game of alliances?

I closed my eyes, trying to quiet the storm inside me. But sleep wouldn’t come. Azrael’s smirk, his eyes, and his very presence haunts me. Somewhere deep in my heart, I already knew the truth: I didn’t just want him.

I needed him.

CHAPTER 3

Inever slept a wink last night. My eyes are heavy, my mind a prison. The treaty meeting was a disaster. Kaelen loves me, but I love Azrael. And now, I’m bound to marry Kaelen. What a mess.

I needed to get up, to look like I hadn’t spent the night tossing and turning. I wanted to look like I’ve slept on a bed of clouds. Where is Withers, though? It’s past dawn, and he’s usually knocking on my door by now. I really need to talk to him. He’s the only one I fully trust in this realm, he was my mother’s right-hand man. I hate calling him a ‘butler’ because he’s so much more than that. He’s my friend, a shoulder to cry on, an advisor.

A knock rang in my ears. Finally. “Come in, I’m awake,” I called, still cocooned in my comfy prison of a bed.

“Good morning, M’Lady. How did you sleep after such an eventful evening with the Lord and Prince?” Withers asked, his smile wide, waiting for my response.

“Awful Withers. Just awful,” I mumble, burying myself further into the mass amounts of duvet, trying to shield myself from the conversation I knew was coming. He approached the bedside, where only my face wasnow visible.

“Come now, Elara. What happened?” his concerned gaze locked with mine, searching for answers.

“It was a disaster, Withers. I revealed my secret… who I really am. And it wasn’t good.” He remained silent, patiently waiting for me to continue. “Kaelen found it interesting. I told him I am of royal blood, he then proceeded to tell me that we are bound. And to marry…” I paused, holding back the information I had scoped out and realised myself. Oh, and the fact that I am in love with Prince Azrael.

“Unfortunately, M’Lady, that is correct. You are now bound to Kaelen. There is a passage within the treaty that states that if two of the three immortal rulers are to be of the same species and are of royal calibre, they are to marry to keep the balance of the world in check… The longer you delay completing the bond, the more our world will crumble. Destruction will take over.”

Withers’ words made me tremble, and I couldn’t seem to hold back my frustration.

“I can’t marry him, Withers! I’m not in love with like he is with me! I love someone else!” I shouted, my voice breaking the silence. I had never snapped at him before. He’d never seen me this frustrated, this lost.

“I…I’m sorry. I’m so conflicted. I haven’t slept all night. My mind has been running marathons.” Tears slide down my cheeks. “What do I do, Withers?”

He didn’t speak right away. Instead, he knelt beside me and wiped the tears from my face.

“Now, now, Elara. You are not alone in this. I swore to your mother that I would always be there for you, if you fell, I’d pick you up. I’ll make sure you’re always protected and loved. I know I’m just your butler…”

“Friend,” I corrected him, a bitter taste forms in my mouth. I hate the word ‘butler’.

“Your friend, Elara,” he continues, his voice soft but firm. “I know I’m your friend, but I’ll never abandon you.”

---