The next morning dawned gray and sullen, clouds hanging low over Polis like the breath of a sleeping beast. It didn't rain, but the air was thick with that heavy stillness that foretold thunder. A storm was coming. Everyone could feel it.
Kira moved through the tower like a shadow. Every step of hers was deliberate now—measured. She wasn't just the foreign warrior with strange techniques anymore. She was Lexa's chosen confidant. The murmurs hadn't stopped since last night, though no one had seen them together after the meal.
And no one needed to.
There was a change in the way people looked at her—subtle, yes, but sharp-eyed Grounders weren't subtle people. They studied her with something between suspicion and awe. She might as well have been wearing a sigil on her chest.
It didn't bother her. But it meant she had to move smarter.
At midday, she met Indra near the inner training grounds. The warrior's jaw was tight, her expression colder than usual.
"You were with the Commander last night," Indra said bluntly.
Kira tilted her head. "Was I?"
"Don't play games with me. Her scent is on you."
Kira crossed her arms. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Indra stared her down. "I have a problem with weakness. Lexa's feelings have made her hesitant before. With Costia. I will not watch her fall again."
Something in Kira's chest stiffened.
"I'm not Costia," she said. "I'm not here to distract her. I'm here to protect her."
"Can you protect her from herself?"
Kira stepped in closer, voice low. "Can you?"
For a moment, they stood eye to eye—warriors from different worlds, forged in different fires, but with the same intent burning between them. Indra's nostrils flared… and then she nodded once.
"We have word from the southern clans," she said, stepping back. "Trikru's allies are wavering. Some believe the Ice Queen's death has made Lexa unstable. They think she acts on emotion."
"They'd be right," Kira said. "But emotion's not weakness. It's what makes her human."
"Not all want a human as Commander."
Kira frowned. "Then they're not thinking long enough."
Indra studied her again. "There will be a summit in three days. The leaders of five clans are coming to Polis. If they unite against her…"
Kira nodded. "Then we make sure they don't."
That night, Kira found Lexa in her war room—alone, hunched over the map table. Candles burned low, the wax forming slow rivers along their holders. Her brows were furrowed, shadows dancing across her cheekbones.
"You didn't come by," Lexa said without looking up.
Kira walked to the table, placed a fresh cup of that bitter pine tea beside her. "You looked busy."
"I'm always busy."
Kira smiled faintly. "Then it's a good thing I'm stubborn."
Lexa finally looked up. Their eyes met. No masks. No walls.
"I missed you," Lexa said quietly.
Kira's breath caught. Just for a moment.
She sat beside her. "Indra warned me off you."
Lexa gave a tired smirk. "She warned me off you, too."
"Nice to know she's consistent."
Lexa exhaled a breath—half a laugh, half a sigh. "They think I'm compromised. That what I feel makes me unfit."
"And what do you think?"
Lexa turned her hand palm-up on the table. Kira placed hers on top of it.
"I think I've never made clearer decisions than when I have something worth protecting."
They stayed there for a long time—silent, connected by fingertips and shared resolve.
Outside, the first roll of thunder echoed across the mountains.
By the second day, the city's guards doubled. Scouts reported strange movements in the western border territories. One village burned. Another emptied.
Whispers of a rival claimant to the throne reached Polis—a warlord from the eastern steppes. Someone with old blood ties to the line of Commanders, backed by rogue clans and Ice Nation loyalists.
Lexa's council was split.
"Show strength," Titus hissed. "Strike first. Silence dissent."
"Invite them," Kira said instead. "Let them speak. Let the other clans see them exposed in the open."
"They'll use the summit to spread doubt."
"Then give them enough rope to hang themselves."
Lexa listened, her face unreadable.
Later, alone again, she asked Kira, "What would you do, in my place?"
Kira leaned against the doorframe. "I'd listen to my gut. And surround myself with people who challenge me—but won't let me fall."
Lexa stepped closer. "And what are you?"
Kira reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind Lexa's ear. "I'm your gut check."
Lexa's hands found Kira's waist, tentative. "And if my gut wants to pull you into bed?"
Kira smirked, heat curling low in her belly. "Then your gut has excellent taste."
They didn't speak again that night. Their lips said the rest.
The summit began under heavy skies. The high lords arrived in caravans of steel and bone. Their armor was ceremonial, their words sharpened like knives. Lexa stood regal in her war leathers, Heda's crown braids tighter than usual. Kira stood at her right—not as consort, not as second, but as something undefined and unyielding.
During the speeches, the eastern representative—the would-be warlord—stood.
He was young. Too young. But his voice was loud.
"Your Commander has grown soft. She spares traitors. She kisses outsiders."
A murmur rippled.
Lexa's jaw clenched, but she said nothing.
Kira stepped forward.
"You want a fight," she said. "Then fight me."
The hall stilled.
The warlord blinked. "What?"
"You insult her. You insult her strength. Prove your own."
Lexa's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't stop her.
The warlord sneered. "Fine."
The duel was short.
Kira fought without mercy—but not without precision. Her strikes were deliberate. Measured. She disarmed him in twenty seconds. Had him on the floor in thirty. Her blade at his throat at thirty-five.
She leaned down. "You speak louder than you bleed."
And then she stepped back.
The message was clear.
No one else rose that day.
That night, in the quiet of Lexa's chamber, Kira sat by the window, watching the storm roll across the valley. Lightning lit the sky in brief flashes of silver.
Lexa came up behind her, wrapped arms around her waist, chin resting on Kira's shoulder.
"You didn't have to fight him."
"I wanted to."
"I wanted to kiss you in front of them all."
Kira smiled. "Maybe next time."
Lexa turned her face. "Soon."
And Kira, who had come into this world broken and half-wild, closed her eyes and leaned back into the arms of the girl who ruled it.
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