The night was heavy with silence, the kind that pressed down on the chest like an unseen weight. Aelion sat by the dying fire, its embers glowing faintly in the chill air of the forest. His cloak was wrapped tightly around his shoulders, but no amount of fabric could drive away the unease crawling beneath his skin. The stars above glittered, distant and unbothered by the chaos of men below.
Across from him, Kealen sharpened his blade, the soft rasp of metal against stone cutting through the stillness. His face was calm, but his eyes carried shadows, flickering every so often toward the prince as if to ensure he was still there, still safe.
Aelion broke the silence first.
"Kealen," he said softly, almost afraid of his own voice. "Do you ever… regret it?"
The bodyguard lifted his head. "Regret what?"
"Choosing this life. Choosing me."
Kealen paused, the whetstone stilling in his hand. He studied Aelion with a gaze that was both sharp and unbearably tender. "Aelion, I didn't choose this life—I chose you."
The words struck like arrows, precise and impossible to ignore. Aelion's throat tightened, his heart hammering as if it wanted to leap out of his chest. He looked away, staring into the embers.
"You say it so easily," Aelion murmured, "but you've bled for me more times than I can count. You've nearly died protecting me. And for what? A broken throne, a prince who can't even protect himself?"
Kealen set the sword aside and stood, crossing the small distance between them. He crouched before Aelion, forcing their eyes to meet. "Don't you dare say that. You are not broken. You are more than a crown, more than the throne they try to bind you to. And protecting you… it has never been a burden."
Aelion swallowed hard. "Then what is it?"
Kealen's voice lowered, husky and filled with something dangerous. "It's my choice. My promise. My—" He stopped himself, as if the words teetering on his tongue were too much, too soon.
The silence stretched, charged with meaning. Aelion's pulse thundered in his ears. "Your… what?" he whispered.
Kealen's jaw tightened, his hand hovering in the air before finally, cautiously, brushing against Aelion's cheek. The warmth of his calloused palm made Aelion shiver.
"My heart," Kealen admitted, the words escaping like a confession torn from his soul.
Aelion froze, every breath stolen from his lungs. His lips parted, but no sound came out. He had dreamed of hearing those words, longed for them in the quiet corners of his heart, yet now that they were spoken, he didn't know how to carry them.
The fire cracked, a spark leaping into the air, and something inside Aelion broke free. He surged forward, his lips finding Kealen's in a kiss that was desperate, trembling, and full of everything he had never dared to say.
Kealen inhaled sharply, then pulled him closer, one hand cradling the back of Aelion's head as if he were the most fragile, precious thing in existence. Their kiss deepened, no longer hesitant but burning with passion—years of restraint unraveling in a single moment.
When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads rested together, breaths mingling in the cool night.
"Aelion," Kealen whispered, voice ragged, "if you regret this—"
"Never," Aelion interrupted, his eyes shining with fierce conviction. "I've lived my whole life in chains—chains of duty, chains of fear. But you… Kealen, you're the only thing that feels real. I don't care if the world crumbles around us. I don't care if I lose the throne, or even my name. As long as I have you, I have enough."
Kealen closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling as if trying to steady the storm inside him. "Then remember this moment, Aelion. Because the world will come for us. They will hunt us, curse us, try to tear us apart. But I swear—" His hand tightened around Aelion's. "—they will have to kill me before they take you."
The words lingered in the night air, unyielding as steel.
And yet, beyond the warmth of their embrace, danger was already stirring. In the darkness beyond the trees, eyes watched, shadows shifting with malicious intent. The enemies they had evaded for weeks had finally caught the trail.
But for that one fleeting night, beneath the stars and the whispers of the forest, Aelion and Kealen allowed themselves to be nothing more than two souls—bound not by duty or destiny, but by love.