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He opened his mouth to say more, but I didn’t give him the chance.

I began chanting in the tongue I had been studying, my voice steady despite the power I was summoning.

The water in the pond swirled violently, responding to the magic coursing through me.

My hands glowed with each word I spoke, and a faint azure thread appeared, connecting my right wrist to Adrian’s left.

His body stiffened, his brow furrowing as he glanced around the cave, now glowing brighter with the spell’s energy.

I felt the surge of energy pulse through my veins, building with every syllable.

With a last word, the spell completed, and a searing light imprinted the mark on my wrist, a delicate siren tail, shimmering with the same colors as my own.

On Adrian’s wrist, a dark black trident appeared, its sharp lines radiating power.

He winced, glancing at the tattoo now visible on his skin. His gaze flickered to my wrist, where the intricate siren tail rested. Shaking his head, he muttered, “I still can’t believe this… That I’m bound to you.”

I stayed silent, struggling to steady myself as the burden of the spell settled over me, leaving my limbs heavy. The effort was draining, but I wouldn’t let him see that weakness. I reinforced my mental barriers, ensuring he wouldn’t sense the fatigue creeping in.

“It’s done,” I muttered, my voice strained but controlled.

Without waiting for a response, I dove into the water, the coolness offering a brief reprieve from the exhaustion.

I reached for the clothes I had packed earlier, encased in an air bubble.

As I broke through the surface again, propping on the shore, I instinctively cloaked myself in invisibility to shift into my human form.

The transition was familiar, but never easy. I gritted my teeth against the discomfort, pulling on the clothes as I tried to keep my movements steady. Once dressed, I dropped the invisibility and pulled myself out of the water.

I was wearing a long blue dress that sparkled like the very essence of twilight.

The fabric enhancing all the right places, its delicate layers of sapphire and deep blue cascading down my body.

It was as if the stars had stitched this creation with their own hands, leaving trails of stardust along the almost translucent material.

The deep cut at the front revealed just enough cleavage to feel daring, but the way the fabric twisted and gathered at my waist made it elegant, imposing.

I felt the confidence it gave me, wrapping around my body like a second skin, making Adrian’s gaze locked onto me, and the way his eyes darkened, filled with some feral desire, it left me utterly breathless.

The air between us thickening with a desire that seemed to burn through my skin. The way he looked at me like I was something rare, something dangerous and exquisite, ignited a fire deep within me. It was intoxicating, overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure I had the strength to resist anymore.

His breath hitched slightly as he stepped closer, and all I wanted was to disappear into those golden pools that were his eyes, to give in to that magnetic force drawing us together. But I couldn’t. Not again.

I tore my gaze away, forcing myself to focus, my pulse racing.

“We don’t have time for this,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

Even as the words left my lips, the ache pulsed through me, a reminder of the fine line we were walking.

But I couldn’t indulge more in this, no matter how much I wanted to.

“Where are you going?” His voice came out hoarse when I headed toward the cave entrance.

“To the exit. I assume you want to get out, right?” My tone was more guarded than before. He already knew about the mate bond. There was no need for him to see me any more vulnerable.

“But that’s a dead end. I tried going there. It doesn’t lead anywhere.” He grimaced as the realization hit him, recognizing that the cave indeed had an opening to the island.

I arched my brow. “Exactly. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it here.” I paused for a moment, giving him another glimpse into my world. “We put illusion spells to keep you trapped here. "

I watched him closely. His eyes narrowed, his head tilted, and his lips pursed as he absorbed my words. Glancing around the cavern, his fingers tracing the faint outline of the trident tattoo on his wrist.

“So… that’s why I didn’t find the cavern exit,” he murmured, unsure, my statement settling over him.

I didn’t respond to him. Instead, I moved toward the illusionary rock wall.

Lifting my hands, I cut my thumb with a sharp rock and traced the blood into the wall, undoing the spell that concealed the entrance.

My hands warmed, and I felt the familiar burn in my arms from the strain.

My mind was foggy, drained from exertion, but I pushed through, releasing the enchantment. The rock shone before vanishing.

Exhausted, I pressed myself against the warm brick wall, needing a moment to gather my strength before going on. He leaned beside me, his breath ghosting over my ear as he moved closer.

“Be honest,” he demanded, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “How much did this cost you?”

When I stayed silence a low groan echoed from him, his chest rumbling with barely contained frustration.

“I know it cost something. You said yourself the council ordered differently, and they didn’t know about the training or the oath.” He leaned closer, turning to meet my eyes directly. “How. Much. Was. It?” His voice was low and strained, carrying a dangerous warning in each punctuated word.

I considered keeping it from him. This was my burden to bear, after all. But I was tired. Exhausted from the endless lies, the treachery within the court, of my guilt. So, selfishly, I shared it with him, even though it wouldn’t change anything.

“Power,” my voice barely above a whisper. “It cost me power over the council.” I straightened, trying to hide the fatigue seeping into every part of me, but the truth was out now.

For a moment, he said nothing, just staring at me like he was trying to process what I’d just revealed. I saw his mind working, pulling at the threads of what little he understood about my world, my role, and how much I had truly given up.

He took a sharp breath, his jaw tightening.

“You gave up your power? For me?” His voice was strained, eyes blow wide, his thick brown meeting the hairline of his forehead.

Surprised, I had surprised him and shocked.

Maybe he didn’t expect me to go to such lengths, well, even I didn’t expect that, but it was done.

And I didn’t have the strength to argue anymore .

“Not just for you. For Aetheria, myself and my crown.” My words felt hollow even as they left my lips.

I hated the sound of it, the justification, the excuses.

I’d always told myself this was my duty, but it felt different now, standing in front of him, exposed.

“The council won’t see it that way, though. They’ll see it as treason.”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing now. “You’re telling me you gave them an opening? Something they can use against you? How do you know they won’t try to overthrow you?”

I flinched at his words. Because I had thought about it. Every day. “I don’t,” I admitted. “But I had no choice. The spell was necessary to keep Aetheria safe and going with you is to keep your identity hidden from them. If they find out what you are…”

His eyes met mine again, a storm brewing behind them. “Then what are they gonna do? Erase my memories, I would still be a hybrid.” His voice grew louder.

“No,” I said firmly, cutting him off. “They would kill you and for hiding from them, they would make me do it and it would kill me.”

Adrian stared at me, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Why do they have so much power over you? Are you not their princess?”

I closed my eyes, running a hand through my eyes. “Because…” I couldn’t speak about my past, my parent’s death, or how the council did nothing to bring the killer to justice, thanks to Thalor. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. “I can’t talk about it, not yet.”

Adrian nodded, his shoulders loosening slightly as the tension ebbs away. “Fine, but answer me this: what about you?” His voice softened. “Who’s protecting you?”

For a moment, I was speechless. The answer to that was nobody. Not really. I had allies, yes, Sienna, Ronan, Kieran, and Elora, but none of them could truly protect me from the burdens I carried.

“I protect myself,” I whispered, though even I didn’t believe it .

He stepped closer, his hand caressing my cheek and pushing a strand behind my ear as he looked down at me. “You don’t have to carry this alone, love.”

I forced a smile. The exhaustion creeping back into my bones.

“I’ve been carrying it alone for a long time.”

For a moment, we stood in silence, the tension between us shifting, growing heavier. I could feel the mate bond pulling us closer, and all I wanted was to give in again, but this was already beyond what I could handle for one morning.

Before he could close the gap between us, I cleared my throat, forcing some distance between us. “We should get going,” I said, my voice steady though my heartbeat was anything but. “I assume you sailed here?”

The brief tension between us shifted, and his expression change, his gaze flickering toward the cave’s entrance as if he’d almost forgotten the world outside.

“Yes,” he murmured, his voice rough but steady. “I docked at the beach”

We moved toward the ominous mouth of the cave, stepping out into the warm, salty air of the island. Tall thick trees greeted us with a soft rustling of leaves, the path ahead shaded by the thick canopy overhead.