Page 128 of Crown of Storm and Silence
Nesilhan's breath catches as I fasten the necklace around her throat, the moonstones settling against her skin like they were made for her.
"Kaan," she whispers, touching the stones with trembling fingers.
"You are my queen," I say firmly, meeting her eyes. "Not because of politics or alliances or what you can give me. Because of who you are, the light you carry, the strength you've shown. Zohan's betrayal can't touch that. Nothing can."
The tears she's been holding back finally spill over, but these are different—cleansing instead of bitter. I pull her into my arms, letting her cry against my chest while the fire crackles softly and moonlight paints silver patterns across the floor.
"I was so scared tonight," she admits when the tears subside. "Scared that everyone was watching me, judging me, looking for weakness. Scared that I was failing at being the queen you need."
"You could never fail at that," I assure her. "You want to know what I saw tonight? I saw a woman who survived learning that her brother betrayed her, then got dressed in silk and diamonds and charmed a room full of potential enemies without letting them see her pain. You want to know what strength looks like? It looks like you."
She's quiet for a long moment, her fingers tracing the necklace's delicate chain. "Do you think your mother would have liked me?”
"She would have adored you," I reply without hesitation. "She always said the best queens weren't born to power—they were forged by surviving things that should have broken them."
"Like amnesia and demon politics?"
"And brothers who choose fear over family loyalty."
She laughs softly, the sound watery but genuine. "When you put it like that, I suppose I have survived quite a lot."
"More than survived. You've thrived. You've built a place for yourself here, earned respect and loyalty through your own actions. What Zohan did doesn't diminish that."
The fire settles lower in the grate, casting dancing shadows across the walls. Nesilhan curls closer to me, her head on my shoulder, one hand resting on her belly.
"Will you tell me about her?" she asks quietly. "Your mother?"
I'm quiet for so long she probably thinks I won't answer. But finally, I find the words.
"She was fierce," I say. "Tiny, barely came to my father's shoulder, but she could make grown demons tremble with a look. She loved books and flowers and long debates aboutphilosophy. She used to say that power without wisdom was just destruction waiting to happen."
"She sounds wonderful."
"She was. And she would have seen in you everything I see—the intelligence that cuts through deception, the compassion that tempers strength, the courage that chooses love despite the risks."
Nesilhan lifts her head to look at me, and in her eyes I see some of the confidence returning. Not the brittle performance from the ballroom, but something real and grounded.
"Thank you," she says simply. "For bringing me here. For sharing her with me. For reminding me who I am underneath all the fear."
"Always," I promise, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "That's what husbands are for."
"Even when I'm being paranoid and dramatic?"
"Especially then."
She smiles—the first truly relaxed expression I've seen from her all evening. The moonlight catches the necklace's stones, making them glow like captured stars against her skin.
"I love you," she says, the words carrying weight and certainty that make my chest tighten with emotion.
"I love you, too,hatun.More than shadows, more than power, more than my own life."
We sit together in the peaceful silence of my mother's sanctuary, surrounded by memories of love that endured beyond death, while outside the room’s walls, the celebration continues without us. But here, in this sacred space, my wife begins to heal from betrayal and remember her own worth.
And the moonstone necklace glows softly against her throat, as if recognizing its new guardian—another strong woman worthy of its protection, another queen brave enough to love despite the risks.
43
The Prophecy Revealed
