The road back to the capital was long, but not treacherous. Spring had awakened the land. The snow was gone, replaced by wildflowers and the promise of rebirth. But I felt none of it.
Every step toward Damien's palace felt like walking deeper into a lion's den—a den I once called home.
I arrived at dusk.
The golden towers of the imperial city glimmered under the fading sun, unchanged and untouchable. I, however, was not the same.
At the gates, the guards recognized me instantly. Their surprise was short-lived; within moments, I was being escorted through marble corridors that echoed with silence.
They brought me to the Hall of Eternal Harmony—my prison turned sanctuary.
He was already there.
Damien Drake, seated beside the fire, robe loose, eyes haunted. He didn't look up when I entered.
I didn't bow.
"You're alive," he said, voice brittle.
"I am."
"You came back."
"I came to end this."
He flinched.
I took slow steps forward until I stood across from him.
"You tried to kill me, Damien. You used me. You broke me. Do you understand that?"
He stood, breath caught. "I thought you'd never forgive me."
"I didn't say I have."
A moment passed.
Then another.
And then, to my surprise, he dropped to his knees.
"I have nothing left to offer but myself."
He reached for my hand, fingers trembling. "I'm not asking for love, Elias. Only the chance to atone."
I looked down at the man who once held an empire in one hand and my throat in the other.
"You think kneeling makes it right?"
He shook his head slowly. "No. But I'm still trying."
I closed my eyes. The silence wrapped around us like a second skin.
"Then try by letting me go."
His breath hitched. "I can't."
"Then we're done."
I turned to leave.
But the door never opened.
Because he whispered the one thing I didn't expect.
"I've abdicated."
I froze.
"The throne... it's no longer mine. I gave it to the younger prince. My uncle oversees the council now."
I turned slowly.
"Why?"
His voice cracked.
"Because I wanted to be free to follow you. If you left, I'd go with you. If you stayed, I'd stay."
He stepped closer.
"I don't want to own you anymore, Elias. I just want to be wherever you are."
The fire popped in the hearth. Outside, the wind howled like it mourned.
Inside, I stood before the man who had once caged me.
But now, I held the key.
I studied his face—drawn, tired, but open in a way it never had been before.
"You'll live like a commoner," I said.
"Yes."
"No guards, no titles, no palace."
"Only you."
I took a breath so deep it shook me.
"Then come."
He followed.
We left the palace as dawn painted the sky in hues of fire and forgiveness.
And I did not look back.