"Why did you light everyone in gold?" Sterling asked, voice still clipped.

"I couldn’t c-c-control it," she replied, hurt laced under the upset that was already there.

The stutter gutted something in Maddox’s chest that he was fairly certain would require surgery to repair. She was defending herself against his officer for a flame that Maddox had called out of her on a dance floor.

"You are an absolute jackass," Blair snapped. "Gwen, as soon as you can control it, please light him on fire."

"It was a fair question," Sterling shot back. "Does it magically shut off on its own too?"

His Third in Command, the finest strategic mind in his military outside of Ryker, was being sarcastic. To a crying woman. About magic she didn’t understand. The man had a death wish.

"If you make her flinch one more time, High Marshal," Kael said. "I will forget we’re on the same side. And I have a very short memory when it comes to people who make her cry."

Maddox pinched the bridge of his nose. His brother had just threatened his Third in Command on behalf of his mate. Kael, who had been Fourth in Command for less than two days, was already accumulating insubordination charges at an impressive rate.

"Sorry, Guinevere," Sterling said, letting out a breath. "I wanted you to stay. I like you. Believe it or not."

Sterling liking someone was rare enough to be classified. Sterling admitting it out loud was unprecedented. The apology was genuine. Maddox could hear it. He was still going to address the part that came before it because the genuine part didn’t erase the part where his Third made his mate stutter.

She gave a wet laugh. "I like you too, Sterling. I p-promise I didn’t do the gold on purpose."

"Gwen," Kael said, voice calm. "He is a dickhead. Nobody outside of him thinks you did that on purpose."

Kael calling Sterling a dickhead while simultaneously being the most emotionally available person in the hall was a plot twist Maddox had not anticipated in any version of this evening. The scoreboard between them was going to require an audit because Kael was winning in categories Maddox hadn’t known existed.

"Seconded," Ryker added. "You’re glowing right now again. Pretty embarrassing."

She let out another laugh.

"I don’t think you did it on purpose, Gwen," Sterling continued. "Have we addressed Shadowfell, Ryker?"

"If you’re worried about me telling Shadowfell, Sterling," she said with a hiccup. "You have my word I would never tell him or anyone."

She was making promises to protect a kingdom that was kicking her out. The loyalty was staggering and misplaced and he was going to redirect every ounce of it towards himself by morning.

"No, Guinevere. That’s not what I’m worried about."

"If you’re worried about my father, I’ll figure something out. You won’t find an issue on my side." She hiccuped again. The hiccup undermined every ounce of authority in the sentence.

It would have been cute if his people weren’t the reason she was crying.

He was done listening to this and rounded the corner.

"Enough. She stays in my Keep. Anyone with a problem can bring it to me personally. I encourage it."

Guinevere’s hand flew to her mouth. Eyes red. Hiccup still caught in her chest.

Ryker closed his eyes for exactly one second, which was Ryker’s version of saying ’fuck.’ The other three looked like they’d been caught burying a body.

No one moved.

"Please excuse me," Guinevere said, turning away before Maddox had reached them.

Blair followed her, shooting Sterling a look that could have peeled paint off a warship, then giving Maddox one that was somehow worse.

Maddox watched Guinevere walk away. But the retreat didn’t make sense for the situation. Either she didn’t want to cry in front of him. Fair. Understandable. Or she didn’t like him. Which was impossible because he was Maddox Drakencrest, and disliking him did not exist.

"Guinevere, stop."

No Draconic register. No command frequency. Just a man standing in a gallery asking a woman to stop running from him.

If she stopped, it would be because she chose to, and if she chose to, it would mean more than any command he could issue. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

She stopped. Voluntary. His heart did something embarrassing in his chest. Then she looked back at him over her shoulder with the saddest expression he had ever seen on a human face. Like he was the reason and the remedy and she couldn’t have either.

"Maddox, let me go. I’m sorry."

"No," Maddox said without hesitation. There was no world where he would be letting her go.

Blair spun Guinevere forward and pulled her along like a woman who had done this extraction before and had opinions about doing it again.

Her shoulders said furious. Her grip said protective. Her pace said ’everyone in this hall can go to hell.’

"Stop. Both of you. Now."

Draconic register. Full volume.

He could feel guilty about it tomorrow. Tomorrow was not tonight. Tonight he was learning that his world had been rearranged without his consent, and the only person who seemed to care about that was currently being forced to leave. There was no universe where he would be letting her out of his sight.

Both women locked mid-stride. Guinevere’s shoulders rose once, held, then dropped. They both turned slowly.

The silence that followed lasted two seconds before the gallery started filling.

The Draconic frequency had the acoustic subtlety of a war horn. Every guest still lingering in adjacent ballrooms poured into the grand gallery with the efficiency of a crowd that had been waiting for Act Three.

Maddox had no problem making sure everyone was crystal clear.

"Guinevere is my fated mate. The Dragon King has chosen and I do not change my mind. She is the future queen of Velkaris and she will be treated as such. End of discussion."

The hall erupted into chaos: gasps, murmurs, and the sound of more people pushing forward to witness the Dragon King’s open declaration.

Blair looked ready to fight. Sterling looked ready to resign. And Guinevere just stared at him with shattered eyes that made his dragon roar for more.