Page 39 of Blood Marked

Why the hell was this bastard still under his roof?

Why did his father—Ruarc, who had once sentenced an entire minor house to exile for lesser schemes—still entertain the presence of a Duskthorn?

Because that’s what Ruarc did.

HetoleratedVaryn, the same way a general tolerates a venomous viper coiled at the edge of the battlefield.

Keep your enemies close. Ruarc’s voice echoed through his memory like gravel over steel.The most dangerous enemy is the one you see. Better that than the knife you don’t.

But this wasn’t politics anymore.

This wasn’t a game of veiled threats and alliances.

This was Selene.

Her face. Her skin. Her voice still whispering across the inside of Kael’s skull like a flame he couldn’t put out.

This was his mate—no matter how much he tried to deny it It had become obvious after he kissed her, even more so afterhe had taken her. Acknowledging it was one thing. Saying it was another, but she was Kael’s. His to protect.

And Varyn had her in his sights.

Kael didn’t care what tradition said. What his father permitted.

If Varyn made one move, he’d gut the bastard before the court could draw breath to object.

Even if it meant igniting the war Ruarc had spent decades avoiding.

Because Kael had already lost one woman to a Duskthorn blade.

He wouldn’t lose another.

He stood now in the far gallery, the winter air biting at his skin, the parchment still in hand. Snow swirled beyond the pillars. The moons were rising, fat and full and cold.

The bond burned low in his chest, steady and constant. A heartbeat that wasn’t just his.

Was she curled up in that damn bed, wondering why he left? Cursing him? Did she think it was powerplay? Claiming?

He didn’t deserve the truth in her kiss. Didn’t deserve her fury, either.

He wanted to see her. To explain. But he didn’t have the words. Didn’t know how to make her believe that what had happened between them wasn’t about prophecy or fate or the Mark that seared them together.

It was abouther.

The fire in her voice. The way she never bowed, never yielded. The way she made him feelaliveagain—terrifying and furious and real.

Now there was Varyn. The public union. A court full of traitors.

And a girl with bloodline secrets the entire Dominion wanted to exploit.

Kael’s head fell back against the stone wall behind him. Eyes shut. Breathing ragged.

He had no idea how to save her without breaking her trust. But he knew one thing for sure. He’d kill anyone who tried to touch her again.

Even if it meant turning on every last House in this cursed mountain.

SEVENTEEN

SELENE

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