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“Griffin?” Aria calls softly, her voice catching just enough to sound vulnerable. “Can we talk?”

She enters the room, her dark hair long and flowing, her low-cut dress a beautiful red color, revealing her more than ample bosom. She approaches me, her eyes wide and anxious, her hands clasped demurely before her.

“I heard Father approached you,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “About us.”

I nod once.

Her voice is gentle, placating. “Griffin, you and I—We’ve always been meant for each other. Our families have planned our mating since we were children. I understand that things have been hard since you returned and that it was that human girl who was by your side when you escaped captivity—”

“I wouldn’t have escaped if it hadn’t been for Maya,” I say coolly.

Her eyes tighten around the corners. “I’m sure that’s what she would like you to believe. I have heard the rumors, Griffin. You’ve been intimate with her. I know you may not see it, but she’s taking advantage of you. I don’t mind if you seek to relieve yourself in her company, but you and I are a good fit. We always have been. We were always close, and we were always meant to be together. You know that.”

“Things change,” I say simply. “We were childhood friends, but that is all.”

She shakes her head, a strand of perfectly arranged dark hair falling artfully across her cheek. “Some things don’t change. Not this. Not us.” Her voice drops, intimate and pleading. “I’ve saved myself for you, Griffin. All these years, while you were gone, I waited. I remained pure.”

The implication hanging in her words ignites a slow-burning anger in my chest. “Unlike her?” I ask quietly.

Aria’s eyes flash, the mask of vulnerability slipping for just a moment. “Well, it’s no secret she has been with others. Who knows how many? She’s human. Their kind don’t value loyalty the way we do.”

My control, already strained by days of kingdom politics, finally snaps. “You spread the rumors about her,” I say, the realization crystallizing. “You made sure everyone knew she left my chambers.”

Aria’s eyes harden, the softness fading to reveal ambition and insult. Her chin lifts defiantly. “I merely shared what I saw. The kingdom deserves to know what kind of woman their king is entertaining. A human who can never understand our ways. Who will bring weakness to our bloodline. Who—”

“Enough,” I growl, the sound low and dangerous enough to make her take a stumbling step back. “Maya Sorin is my fated mate, chosen by the Goddess herself. She is brave and brilliant and loyal, and she endured months of captivity to save my life. She will be my queen, and she will have your respect.”

Aria’s composure crumbles, her eyes filling with tears that I suspect are as calculated as everything else about her. “You can’t mean that. She has bewitched you, or—”

“The only one attempting to manipulate me here is you,” I say coldly. “And I suggest you stop now, before you say something truly unforgivable.”

Her face twists, the pretty mask finally falling away completely. “She’ll ruin you,” Aria hisses. “A human queen? The kingdom will never accept her. They’ll undermine you at every turn. They’ll—”

“Leave,” I say, my voice deadly quiet. “Now.”

Something in my expression must finally convince her, because she steps back, her face pale with shock. For perhapsthe first time in her life, Aria Vane realizes she has miscalculated badly. Without another word, she turns and hurries away, leaving me standing alone in my office, the taste of anger still bitter on my tongue.

Damn it! Damn it all to hell!

I should have known. I should have been prepared.

Of course the elders won’t attack me directly. They learned from what happened with Cedric. No, they’re going after Maya, surrounding her with rumors that will make her being here unbearable, make me unbearable in her eyes.

The tension remains with me throughout the day, coiling tighter as evening approaches. Because beneath the anger is a deeper worry: I haven’t seen Maya since dawn. According to the lab staff, she worked until late afternoon, then returned to her cottage.

She’s been like this since our night together. For three days and three nights, she has avoided me successfully.

But not anymore.

If she won’t come to me, then I’ll go to her.

I give Maya until midnight,pacing my chambers like a caged animal as the hours crawl by. When the palace finally falls silent, I make my way to her cottage, moving like a shadow through the grounds.

I expect to find her outside, wrapped in her blankets under the stars. But the garden is empty, the grass undisturbed. Through the cottage window, I can see a faint light glowing in her bedroom.

She’s trying to sleep indoors.

I know what that means: she’s deliberately avoiding me, pushing herself to endure the confines of walls rather than risk encountering me in the open air. The knowledge aches deep in my chest.