His palms freeze on me, the long pause rising the hairs along my skin. “These”—a big hand pushes between my legs and wraps around my upper thigh— “scars. Don’t lie to me, little creature. You have already done it once.”

How does he know? I fight my lungs for the courage to breathe steady. “I was worried for Iris… You killed my Silk Wardeness, my king.”

“I executed her,” he corrects.

“And Iris?”

“Was examined for implanting yesterday.” His voice is dangerously even. “She is not pregnant and so will suffer the same fate."

I don’t think as I push up off his chest, the word flying out with a punch. “No!”

He glares down at me through his lashes. “Yes.” Breath shakes from me, seeing the endless pits of his darkness shrink the blue in his eyes to thin rings.

“Show her mercy, my king,” I plea. “Show her mercy. She is my oldest companion.”

“You only need Odio and me.”

“I want my Collective, too.”

I gasp as his hand launches for my throat, wrapping around the column, dragging me up until I am close to his face. To catch myself, my hands meet the mattress beside his head.

“I have decided,” he growls the words through a tight jaw, his savage dominance assaulting me.

My beast…

Instinctively, my body twitches to recoil, but I don’t. I am not afraid of him.

I press my forehead to his, squeeze my eyes shut, and exhale hard. “Please, my king. For me.”

A long hiss leaves his mouth, and the pressure from his hand lessens around my neck. “I will spare her execution, bu⁠—”

I lift my head. “Honestly?” Hope blazes in my eyes.

His expression remains dark, an internal battle carves across sharp, tense features. “But she will be sent to the Black Matter Tower to birth a legacy for Lord Coober. Accept this. And be very careful with what you say next. This concept of love is somewhat new to me. Do not make me despise it before I have a chance to adapt to its incessant rule.”

But she is broken.

My brows pinch, confused. “But— But she has been opened by another.”

“This will not bother him. He will merely appreciate her strong Xin De genus.”

“Wait?” My heart swarms with heat as a word he used earlier finds a home in my chest. “Did you use the word, ‘love?’ You mean…” I hesitate. “That you…”

“Unbearably, yes.”

I inhale his response, accepting the answer, however strangled, as if this tiny one-syllable word has the power to wrap my skin in a warm hold and ensure my happiness. I know that’s not true, but maybe, love does last forever…

Maybe it is the only thing that truly can.

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Chapter Five

Aster

I soon learn that at the conclusion of a Trade campaign, when Rome returns, activity bursts across The Estate like an exploding mosaic. They celebrate his presence.

Gripping the top of the balcony, I lean over and watch another carnival unfold like a living tapestry, spreading colourful tents and lights across the streets.

The citizens move around in waves. The music lifts up to where I stand on the roof of his personal wing, a teasing melody I am not allowed to completely enjoy.

I am not allowed to go.

I place my hand over my womb.

Protect the heir…

From here, I can see the piazza fountains shooting into the sky, and if I lift to my tippy-toes, I can see the stage erected between the ancient city buildings and Rome sitting on his throne with an empty seat to his right and Lord Turin Two, Lord Bled, Lord Medan, and Kong to his left.

Mm, he is so handsome.

I flatten my feet and pout.

“I suspected as much.” A soft voice comes from behind me, and when I turn, I see Tuscany strolling onto the balcony. “I could disguise you.” She stops a few feet away and smiles, faint but sweet. “We could put you in a pretty mask and hood and have you wander in the shadows to enjoy the festivities.”

As if he understood, Odio screeches from the skies above the building. Not approving the plan.

“Oh, Odio. Really?” Tuscany half-laughs at the great beast as he lands on the roof above us, leaning over the brink to watch us converse on the platform below. “Well, he misses nothing. He is probably wary of my guests.”

I lift a brow. “Your guests?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice soars from inside. “Aster!” I beam. Blossom and Daisy dash through the balcony’s open doors, the purple drapes swaying as they fly past.

Daisy grins. “I have news.”

“I do, too.” Blossom bounces over.

My heart warms as the three of us embrace, our soft squeals and greetings singing in the air.

“I do miss our routines and the courtyard,” I admit, “I feel as though I have abandoned you.”

“It has only been a few days.” Daisy chuckles but pulls me in a little tighter to show how she feels.

My smile reaches every inch of my face, when another voice comes from inside. “What is the intention of the mantled eagles? They are… welcoming?”

My chin turns in time to see a stunning dark-skinned girl with a round belly walking—waddling—toward us.

“Ana!”

She presses into our huddle on the balcony, and I revel in the moment, my yearning to join the distant carnival melting away. “You’re feeling well?”

“I am feeling,” she simply says. “And accepting. I want to appreciate the smaller details before the puzzle is complete and I miss them. Like you. You’re a very pretty detail that I do not ever wish to take for granted.”

A lump forms in my throat. “Ana.”

As sentiment bites at our smiles and glosses our eyes, Ana clears her throat, shaking it away. She bumps Daisy with her hip. “Tell her.”

“I am pregnant,” Blossom blurts out.

“Blossom,” Daisy mock-moans. “We flipped a puzzle piece on who would go first.”

Blossom covers her smile. “Sorry!”

“As am I.” Daisy’s expression takes on a serious, significant manner when she places both of her palms on my lower abdomen. “And I hear you carry a king, Aster.”

My heart jets to the skies, and I nod.

“Aster made me realise something,” Ana says, and we all look at her. “While I was in my room.”

We form a relaxed circle, and the carnival music floats to our platform, creating a private festival just for us.

The Silk Girls.

“Meaningful Purpose is the completed puzzle,” she states. “But the journey, the pieces, can be meaningful, too. You and you and you”—she bounces her soft, brown gaze around the circle— “my Collective.”

“Aster…” Blossom’s eyes fill with hope. “You’re still one of us, aren’t you? You’re not something different now?”

“I am still one of you.” I cup the back of her auburn hair. “He has said I can see you as often as I wish, only I must bring…” On a heavy exhale, my gaze hits the roofline.

They follow my line of sight to where Odio is perched on the tiles above us, head tilting as if listening.

Ana shrugs. “It will be nice to have a man around.”

I laugh.

Remembering the queen, I spin to thank her for allowing this to happen, but… she is gone. Sadness flickers inside me, but I remember my Collective. I force myself to surrender the simmering need to help her. Sometimes, it is best to accept that not everything can be fixed. Some people are not ready… some are paralysed with fear.

A memory whispers in her absence. Small feathers in my palm. An upside-down bird trapped in a glass house.

If she could only see the Redwind.

See something outside of these walls.

Maybe she would spread her wings.

“What happened to Iris?” Daisy pulls me to the present, her question a chisel hacking for the truth.