Aveline felt the heat before the flames ever reached her.

It struck against her skin in sharp, burning waves, pricking across her face and arms until breathing itself became difficult. Instinctively, she bent down, reaching for Hamilton, but instead of retreating, the little creature darted forward.

"Hamilton—!"

He planted himself between her and the fire, tiny body puffed up defiantly as though he truly intended to shield her from the inferno rushing toward them.

Aveline’s chest tightened.

The heat became unbearable. She lowered her head and covered her face, bracing herself for impact, for pain, for the agony that would surely follow.

Her heart sank heavily in her chest.

At least this time... her shadow was with her.

Oddly enough, she wasn’t afraid of the pain itself. What burned hotter than fear was irritation—anger simmering violently beneath her skin.

People spoke of protecting her while hiding truths from her face. They dragged her into places filled with secrets, watched her like she was something dangerous, and now strangers were trying to kill her for reasons no one would explain.

And above all of it...

Theron.

Rain or shine, fear or loneliness, her thoughts kept circling back to him. Yet he...

He had chosen someone else. Chosen to spend his time with his beloved while she stood here, confused and unwanted in a place that refused to tell her what she was supposed to be.

Why had they even brought her here?

At least in Aurelmont, she had understood her suffering. She had known why people hated her. The pain there had meaning.

But here?

Nothing made sense.

Everyone expected something from her while refusing to tell her anything at all.

Her eyes sharpened as she stared ahead. Part of her wanted to step directly into the fire just to see what it would do to her. Another part was beginning to wonder why it still hadn’t touched her yet.

Then she saw why.

Someone stood before her.

Broad shoulders. A familiar back shielding her completely from the flames.

Theron.

Aveline’s lips pressed into a thin line.

With one smooth motion of his hand, he traced a strange movement through the air... and the fire vanished. Not weakened. Not pushed aside.

Vanished, as though the air itself had swallowed the blaze whole.

For a brief moment, curiosity flickered through her anger. How had he done that?

But the anger returned just as quickly.

"Hamilton," she called coldly.

She had made up her mind already. From now on, she would care only for her friends. And Theron was no longer one of them.

What if she thought of him every time she was afraid? What if he always appeared exactly when she needed him most?

It didn’t matter.

Because... he would leave anyway. So why should she care anymore? The Theron of her dreams was enough for her.

Hamilton looked from Theron to Aveline, visibly torn for a second before hopping obediently back into her waiting hand.

Then, without sparing Theron another glance, Aveline stepped back, as though his presence meant absolutely nothing to her at all.

Theron turned slightly, his gaze following her instinctively. All he could see was her back as she walked away, shoulders stiff with anger.

But she was unharmed.

The faint line between his brows eased the moment he confirmed it. The tightness in his chest loosened, if only slightly, at the sight of her steady steps.

Only then did his attention shift forward.

His eyes sharpened instantly, all warmth vanishing into something colder as they settled on the two men before him.

The men froze.

So did Edric.

So did Kael.

None of them had expected him to appear.

"So..." Theron stepped forward, his boots crunching over the shattered stone flooring Aveline had torn apart moments ago. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

His tone was calm. Too calm.

The two men stared at him in visible shock, but Theron caught the flicker of calculation that followed almost immediately.

Bounty hunters.

He could tell at a glance. The carved runes etched into their gear, the wooden tokens, the practiced coordination—it was obvious enough. Rosalyn’s bounty had drawn scavengers faster than expected, and now they had stumbled onto something far more valuable than they had anticipated.

Not only could the woman they came for summon the crown prince... she was also a woman capable of splitting the earth itself.

Theron’s eyes flicked briefly toward the cracked ground beneath his feet. No matter how he looked at it, the answer remained the same.

Earth-bending.

No matter how impossible it seemed... it resembled earth-bending.

And now these men knew it too. Which meant the information in their heads had suddenly become worth a fortune.

Unfortunately for them, surviving long enough to sell it required his permission.

The two bounty hunters exchanged a quick glance. And in that single glance, Theron saw them make the stupidest decision possible.

They thought they could escape, and worse... they thought they could stall him, the Crown Prince who was known throughout the empire as the cruel prince.

Their hands slammed against the carved runes again. Fire exploded outward once more, a blazing wave meant to buy them enough time to flee.

But Theron moved before the flames fully formed.

He leapt.

High enough that for a split second, it looked unnatural, his body twisting into a clean somersault above the rushing blaze. In the same motion, two narrow blades slipped from hidden sheaths inside his sleeves, glinting silver beneath the firelight.

The flames roared harmlessly beneath him.

The men looked up just in time to see him descending.

The last thing they saw was Theron’s smirk... and the blades flying straight toward them.

Both struck true.

Steel sliced cleanly into their jugulars, cutting off even the chance to scream. Blood burst violently into the air, spraying across the cracked stone Aveline had split apart moments earlier.

Their bodies collapsed heavily onto the ruined ground.

Theron landed lightly between them, as though killing them had required no more effort than taking another step.

Kael blinked in disbelief at the sight before him.

Theron was here.

Not in royal attire. Not dressed as the Crown Prince.

But in his night robe.

Kael’s mind struggled to catch up.

Wasn’t he the one insisting on keeping his distance from Aveline? Wasn’t he the one avoiding her for her own safety? Then why had he come here himself—and so quickly at that?

And more importantly...

How had the bounty hunters found her this fast?

Kael had only recently received word that Rosalyn Caelvaris had placed a bounty on the mysterious woman who had entered the capital with him. He had intended to report it to Theron personally before taking action.

But before he even had the chance, the hunters had already arrived, inside this mansion.

His chest tightened uneasily.

That alone made no sense.

Their estate was one of the most heavily fortified places in the entire capital, second only to the royal palace itself. Countless shadow wards protected the grounds. Hidden sentries watched every corridor. Intruders should never have made it this far unnoticed.

Yet they had.

Kael’s thoughts tangled into a dozen unanswered questions, but all of them vanished the moment he saw Theron begin walking toward Edric.

His heart nearly stopped.

Edric looked from the dead bounty hunters to the massive crack splitting the corridor floor, then finally lifted his gaze to the approaching Crown Prince.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing immediately.

But Theron did not acknowledge the gesture. There was something cold in his expression now. Something far more dangerous than anger.

"How," Theron asked quietly, each word measured with terrifying restraint, "has your mansion become the most dangerous place for her in this entire city?"

Edric swallowed hard.

The weight behind those words struck deeper than any shouted accusation could have.

And slowly, far too slowly, understanding began to settle over him.