Page 40

Forty

L eonie stood shakily, still pressed close to Karian’s side, her pulse hammering. Nuak remained pinned to the wall by some invisible force Karian had summoned, her limbs splayed unnaturally, mouth tight with pain. The dagger lay glinting on the floor like some discarded truth.

Karian’s rage was a living thing.

His markings shimmered with wild, shifting light. His gills flared with every breath. Even his tentacles had gone taut, coiled with tension, twitching at the ends. He was beautiful and terrible, like a storm made flesh.

She could feel it—a power roiling just beneath his skin, barely held in check.

He raised his hand slowly.

"She tried to kill you," he said, voice like thunder smoothed by silk. "For that, she dies."

Nuak didn’t beg. She didn’t cry. Her face remained eerily calm, even though her chest heaved, her eyes wide with pain. But Leonie could see it—beneath that serenity—there was fear . Maybe even regret .

"Wait." Leonie touched Karian’s arm, stepping in front of him, between him and Nuak.

He blinked, as if noticing her anew. "You would stop me?" His voice was incredulous. Soft, but dangerous.

She swallowed. "Yes. I am."

"You saw what she did. What she meant to do."

"I did." She nodded. "But killing her won’t fix what’s wrong. It won’t take back what happened. It’ll just make you into someone who kills his own people—someone they can call monstrous."

His jaw flexed. His eyes searched hers, storm-dark and unreadable.

She placed her palm flat against his chest, feeling the deep thrum of his heart. "You said you would do anything for me."

The words hung in the air.

He went still. And then—inch by inch—the storm began to recede.

The markings on his skin dimmed. His tentacles loosened. The weight in the room lifted.

With a flick of his hand, the invisible force holding Nuak vanished.

She dropped to the ground, gasping, coughing, one hand braced on the floor. Her eyes snapped up—not to Karian, but to Leonie.

She looked... stunned.

"You spared me," Nuak said hoarsely. "You..."

"You're not my enemy," Leonie said quietly, still watching her. "But next time you raise a hand to me, I won’t stop him."

Nuak’s jaw clenched, and she gave a single, stiff nod. Not thanks—but perhaps recognition.

Karian said nothing. He only wrapped Leonie in his arms again and pulled her close, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Then, Karian stepped forward, towering over the fallen servant. “You have committed a treasonous act,” he said, his voice returning to its imperious, formal cadence. “You attempted to murder one under my protection.”

Nuak’s chin lifted, and at last, she spoke. “She is changing you,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” Karian answered. “She is.”

He raised one hand and gestured to the side. At once, two Yerak guards entered the chamber. Silent, masked, alert. Karian pointed at Nuak.

“Take her. She will live. She will be questioned. And she will answer for her actions.”

The guards moved to obey, lifting Nuak to her feet and escorting her out.

Leonie watched her go, pulse still fluttering in her throat.

Karian turned back to her, drawing her close, wrapping his tentacled limbs around her protectively. “I would have ended her for you,” he murmured, brushing his lips against her forehead. “I still might. But for now, your word is enough.”

She leaned into his embrace, shaken, but oddly comforted.

For the first time, she realized the extent of his power—not just to destroy, but to choose not to . And she had been the reason for that choice.