Page 5 of Beyond the Treaty

I wandered deeper into the castle until I reached an even grander set of doors. It had to have been where Kaelen was.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was to come. I pushed the heavy doors open, and there he was. Kaelen sat upon his throne, in the heart of the room, a space bathed in the pale glow of moonstone. The throne was crafted from obsidian, inlaid with silver. Behind it, a mural depicted the rise and fall of Kaelen’s people, a reminder of their power.

“Elara?” Kaelen gasped, his eyes wide with surprise. “What are you doing here?” he looks at me, surprised, but in a way that made my heart flutter. Hmm.

“I’m here to apologise, Kaelen,” I say, standing tall. Trying to make this encounter about business, not pleasure.

CHAPTER 4

For what felt like hours, we stared at each other across the room in silence. Thankfully, no one else was present, or I didn’t think there was.

“Please, come in,” Kaelen broke the silence, clearing his throat nervously. I moved slowly towards him, taking in the vastness of the room with every step. When I finally reached him, only a few feet between us, I couldn’t deny his beauty, his smile, oh Gods, that smile.

“I’m sorry, Kaelen,” I say, my voice steady. “I apologise for my rudeness last night and for leaving abruptly at the meeting. It was a lot to process, both giving and receiving. I hope you can forgive me?” My gaze remained locked with his, letting him see the sincerity in my eyes, even as I twisted uncomfortably at the thought of marrying him.

“Elara, there’s no need to apologise.” He takes a step closer. “Last night was a lot for all of us. I don’t understand why Azrael had his say in the matter. He made it worse than it needed to

be.”

He was inches away now. I could feel his breath on my

skin, the warmth of his proximity making my heart race,even though, as a vampire, my heart didn’t technically beat. My body froze.

Do I move away?

Do I move closer?

His presence was like a magnetic force pulling me in. My

vampiric instincts screamed to close the distance and touch him.

Was this the bond?

What was happening to me?

“It’s the right thing to do, Kaelen,” I manage to say, my voice

trembling as my body hummed with an unfamiliar desire. This can’t be happening. I’m supposed to be here to apologise, not feel this way. But it was hard to ignore the electric tension that seemed to bind us.

“Kaelen?” I ask, my voice uncertain.

“Yes? What’s wrong?” his eyes were full of concern, a soft vulnerability in them I hadn’t seen before. This wasn’t the cold, calculating gaze of the Vampire Lord. No, this was something... different. Worry, mixed with something deeper. Love?

“I... I don’t know what’s happening to me,” I confess, my breath coming in shallow gasps. My body was betraying me, aching with a need I couldn’t control. This must be the bond. It has to be.

Kaelen looks at me with a mixture of tenderness and understanding. “Don’t worry, Elara. This is normal; it happened with my parents and probably with yours, although I don’t know much about your family...”

“This isn’t the time to talk about my parents, Kaelen!” My voice snaps, impatience rising within me. Bigger things are at play right now, much bigger than my lineage.

I step back, trying to calm the chaotic storm within me. “It feels like my heart is racing, but it hasn’t beat since the day I was born. Could this be the bond?”

He steps closer again, his gaze steady but knowing. “Not

exactly. That’s part of it. But the other part is that there aretwo of the same. Drawn to each other. For females, this happens as we near the mating process. For the males...” his eyes flickered downward, and his meaning was clear.

“Oh.” I blush deeply. So, the hot flushes are happening to me, and the... arousal is happening to him? My fingers twisted in my hair nervously, and I tried to focus on anything but the tension crackling between us.

“Elara, what are you thinking right now?” Kaelen asks his voice low, almost a growl.

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