Page 84 of Blood Marked

He nodded. “Then let’s do it.”

They returned to the shattered remnants of the Court of Claws not as fugitives or traitors—but as saviors.

Guards lowered their weapons at Kael’s approach.

Priests stepped back when Selene passed, the Mark blazing anew on her skin.

No words. No commands. Just presence.

And in the center of the war room, what remained of it—Selene stood beside Kael, lifted her chin, and spoke the words that would break the cycle.

“This court dies tonight.”

A beat. Murmurs. Shock.

Kael stepped forward, hand sliding into hers.

“But a better one rises,” he said. “One not built on bloodlines or fear or conquest. But on choice. On alliance. On love.”

Silence.

Nyra stepped forward, blade unsheathed.

She knelt. The others followed. And just like that, they weren’t hiding anymore.

They wereleading.

THIRTY-SEVEN

KAEL

She was still weak, and he carried her from the blood-soaked clearing like she weighed nothing, tucking her against his chest. His wolf didn’t prowl under his skin—ithowled, protective and electric, snapping at every shadow.

The old ruins nearby weren’t safe, but it didn’t matter. Kael found a shallow, moss-lined cave tucked under a fallen slab of stone, half-covered in ivy. The Veil ran thick through this place—he couldfeelit—but for now, it was theirs.

He laid her down gently.

She caught his wrist before he could step back.

“I don’t want space,” she said.

He swallowed hard. “You need to rest.”

“I needyou.”

He didn’t argue again.

Kael stripped off his cloak first, then hers. Their fingers fumbled with buckles, laces, cloth soaked in blood and magic. There was no finesse. No performance. Just raw need.

And when she lay bare beneath him, eyes wide and full of fire, Kael paused.

She wasn’t broken. She wasn’t a relic. She wasn’t prophecy or power or a pawn in a war he never asked to lead. She washis.And he washers.

Not because of a bond. Not because of fate. Because they fucking chose each other.

“I love you,” he said, voice low and rough, like the words scraped his ribs on the way out. “And I’m sorry it took nearly losing you to say it right.”

She didn’t cry.

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