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Weeks had passed. And yet we had somehow never spoken of it.

I tried not to let my body tense up at the memory of him crouched at that woman’s feet, but it was no use.

“There’s nothing to say sorry for.”

Yet a sour taste had filled my mouth.

“I was playing a part. I know you knew that. But still... It was a despicable part to have to play,” he said. “In that moment, you have no idea how much I hated myself.”

“I know you had no choice,” I said quietly. “Believe me, I do.”

He was silent for a few moments as we danced.

“You need to know, I’ll never love anyone else, Morgan,” he said finally. “What we have is eternal—and those aren’t merely words.”

“What do you mean?” My heart had started to hammer. Somehow, he was touching my deepest fear, the one I hadn’t had the guts to speak aloud since the mountain—not to him, not even to myself.

“What I did to you, when I saved your life in Meridium—it took blood and it took the grail. But more than that, it took...” He hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Nedola. She was there.”

I caught my breath. “Nedola? You never told me that before.”

He nodded. “Odelna. Nedola. They were one and the same. The real child had died some time before. Nedola was... inhabiting the body. Like she did with that dead soldier on the battlements that night in Myntra.”

I finally understood. Even the names were a play on words. I wrinkled my nose.

“I suppose we should be glad she chose an owl in Camelot,” I remarked with a shudder. “And not a corpse.”

Draven winced. “Though if you knew some of the things I said to that owl when I was frustrated...” He shook his head. “Anyhow. That’s not what I needed to say. What I needed to tell you was...”

“Yes?” I prompted.

“That I took a risk. Doing what I did. The bonding ritual saved your life, yes. But... I might have lost mine.”

My heart sped up. “I never knew that. You never told me.”

“It didn’t really matter.” He quirked his mouth. “If I’d failed, we’d both have been dead.”

“But it didn’t fail,” I said. “It very much succeeded.”

He nodded. “But bound us, against your will.”

“Not against my will anymore. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, if I had the choice.”

“Even if you knew...” Again that hesitation.

I raised my eyebrows. “Tell me, Draven. That’s an order. From your empress.”

He smirked. “Well, in that case.”

The dance was over. Draven let go of me and, stepping back, ran his fingers through his dark hair. “We’re bound until death. To death and... beyond death.”

I stared at him. “What does that even mean?”

“It means...” He paused. “It means what you and I have goes beyond anything Vela and I did.” He flinched. “Gods, but I hate even saying her name.”