Page 55 of Blood Marked

SELENE

Selene didn’t sleep the moment she got back from the summit council. She didn’t even sit down.

She stood at her window, overlooking the dark slope of the Veil Mountains, the cold mist curling along the stones like ghost-breath. Somewhere behind those jagged peaks, her father had sent a letter meant to pull her away from Kael. Somewhere beyond that lay the world she thought she knew.

And in here? In here, she was finally becomingsomething real.

The summit had been brutal—eyes like blades, voices like hammers—but she’d held her ground. Lucien had been condescending, Calder much moodier than before, and Seraphine... Seraphine had studied her like she was a riddle worth breaking open.

But Kael.

Kael watched her as if she were steel in a sea of wolves. Like he saw her—not just as bonded or a pawn—but as someone whochoseto stand at his side.

And she had.

Every second of that hall, she hadchosenhim.

As she stared out the window, Kael’s unmistakable footfalls quietly sounded as he approached her. They stared at the moon in silence, just being near each other for a moment. A long tender moment.

“Can I walk you to your quarters?” he asked quietly, offering his arm.

She turned and smiled and took his offer.

They didn’t speak for a while, just footsteps echoing in rhythm down the candlelit corridor. His hand brushed hers once. Warm. Steady.

She let the silence hold for a moment longer, then asked softly, “You think it worked? That I earned their respect?”

Kael didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was lower than usual. “You didn’t earn it,” he said. “Youcommandedit.”

She flushed.

A rare smile tugged at his lips. “Like I said before, even Lucien shut up. You’re dangerous, Selene.”

She laughed under her breath. “I’ve been told that before. Usually by people who underestimated me.”

His smile faded, though not unkindly.

When they stopped at her door, he leaned against the frame, his voice dipping into something thoughtful.

“I’m going to stall the ceremony,” he said quietly.

Selene blinked. “What?”

He looked at her then. Really looked. “The binding rite. It’s too soon. With Varyn sniffing around and the court on edge, rushing it would be begging for a blade to the throat—yours.I want more time to figure out who’s pulling strings. Who else is involved.”

“You think your father will agree?”

“I don’t care if he agrees.”

She stared at him. That was new.

“I need time to protect you,” he added, softer now. “Time to prepare. And if I have to pull every string in the mountain, I’ll do it.”

Something inside her flickered.

“Kael…” she started, but he leaned down and kissed her.

It wasn’t hurried. It wasn’t desperate. It was a vow pressed into her mouth. Warm, unyielding, his fingers just brushing her cheek.

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