After the King left, Kael and I stood in awkward silence. The argument from earlier hung between us, unresolved.
"I'm not trying to be a martyr," Kael said finally. "I'm trying to be a king. To make the hard choices that protect my people."
"And I'm trying to keep you alive long enough to be that king. We're not at odds here, Kael. We both want the same thing—victory and survival. We just disagree on how to achieve it."
"So what do we do?"
"We compromise. I'll work with Elena to find alternatives to you creating shadow beasts. If we can't find anything viable by the time Daemon attacks, then we'll reconsider your plan as a last resort." I moved closer, taking his hands. "But only as a last resort. Promise me you won't use your curse that way unless there's absolutely no other option."
He hesitated, and I could see him weighing duty against safety, kingdom against personal survival. Finally, he nodded.
"All right. Last resort only. I promise."
"Thank you." I pulled him into an embrace, holding tight. "I can't lose you. Not after everything."
"You won't. We're going to win this. We're going to stop Daemon, protect the kingdom, and then take that day of peace we promised ourselves." He kissed the top of my head. "Together. Always together."
"Together," I agreed.
But as we left the war room and began the work of preparing for battle, I couldn't shake the feeling that promises made in times of crisis were easy to speak and hard to keep.
Six days until Daemon's forces arrived. Six days to find a way to win without losing the man I loved in the process.
Six days to achieve the impossible.
And we were going to need every minute of them.
"Elara?" Kael said as we walked. "Whatever happens in six days, whatever we have to do to survive—I want you to know that these past weeks with you have been the happiest of my life. Even with the conspiracy and the danger and everything else, having you beside me has made it all worth enduring."
"Don't talk like you're saying goodbye. We're both going to survive this."
"I know. But just in case... I needed you to know."
"I do know. And Kael? Same for me. These weeks with you have transformed me into someone I never thought I could be. Someone strong and capable and genuinely happy despite the chaos." I stopped walking, turning to face him. "So we're both going to survive, and we're going to spend the rest of our very long lives being happy together. That's not optimism. That's a requirement."
He smiled, some of the worry leaving his expression. "A requirement. I can work with that."
"Good. Now let's go find Elena and figure out how to fight shadow magic without killing you in the process."
We headed toward the library tower where Elena had set up her workspace. As we climbed the stairs, I found myself mentally listing everything that needed to be done in the next six days.
Evacuations coordinated. Defenses positioned. Supplies stockpiled. Weapons distributed. Magical countermeasures researched and implemented. Contingency plans for every possible scenario.
It was overwhelming. But then again, everything about the past month had been overwhelming, and we'd handled it. We'd survived assassination attempts, exposed traitors, broken conspiracies, and fallen in love despite the most adverse circumstances imaginable.
We could do this. We had to do this.
Because the alternative was unthinkable.
"One more thing," Kael said as we reached Elena's door. "After we win this battle, after everything is settled and safe—marry me again."
"We're already married."
"I know. But that was a political arrangement forced on both of us. I want to marry you again, properly this time, with vows we choose and meaning we create ourselves. I want a wedding that's about us, not kingdoms or alliances or conspiracies."
Despite everything, despite the fear and the exhaustion and the looming battle, I smiled. "Yes. After we survive the next six days, we'll have a real wedding. With friends and music and absolutely no shadow beasts trying to kill us."
"Sounds perfect. It's a date."
"A date that requires we both stay alive to keep it."
"Then that's what we'll do. Stay alive. Fight smart. Win together."
"Win together," I repeated. "Now let's go see what ancient secrets Elena has that can help us make that happen."
We pushed open the door to find Elena surrounded by books, scrolls scattered everywhere, and a look of intense concentration on her face. She looked up when we entered, and her expression was both excited and worried.
"Good, you're here. I've found something in the old texts. Something that might give us an advantage against Daemon. But you're not going to like it."
Of course we weren't. Nothing about this entire situation was likable.
"Tell us," I said. "Whatever it is, we need to know."
Elena took a breath. "The old families developed techniques for binding shadow beasts centuries ago. Ways to turn them from threats into allies. But the binding requires a sacrifice—specifically, a willing host who shares bloodline with the person who created the beasts."
I felt cold understanding spreading through me. "You're saying one of Kael's family members would have to bind themselves to Daemon's shadow beasts to control them. To turn them against their creator."
"Yes. It would give us control of Daemon's own weapons. Use his power against him. But whoever performed the binding would be changed. Permanently connected to the shadow beasts, their life force tied to the creatures. They'd never be fully human again."
Kael and I exchanged glances. This was the alternative to him creating his own shadow beasts—but it came with its own terrible price.
"Who would have to do it?" Kael asked quietly.
"Someone with direct bloodline connection to Daemon. Which means King Aldric, one of his sons, or..." Elena looked at Kael's abdomen, where I knew he bore the faint marks of our unborn child growing within me. "Or a future child, if they inherited the curse."
"Absolutely not," I said immediately. "We're not sacrificing our child for this."
"I wasn't suggesting it. Just explaining the full scope of the ritual." Elena held up her hands. "The realistic options are the King or his sons. Theron doesn't have the curse, which might make the binding impossible or fatal. That leaves King Aldric or Kael."
"Or Darian," Kael pointed out. "He's with Daemon now. If we could capture him, he could perform the binding."
"Assuming he'd be willing. And assuming we could capture him without getting killed in the process." Elena shook her head. "This is why I said you wouldn't like it. There's no good option here. Just varying degrees of terrible."
She was right. Use Kael's curse to create shadow beasts and risk killing him. Bind one of Kael's family to Daemon's beasts and permanently change them. Or face Daemon's forces with no magical defense and accept the likely slaughter that would result.
"There has to be another way," I insisted. "Some option we haven't considered yet."
"If there is, I haven't found it in any of the texts. And I've been searching for three days straight." Elena's exhaustion showed in her voice. "I'm sorry. I wish I had better news."
"Keep searching. We have six days. Something might turn up." I looked at Kael. "In the meantime, we prepare for conventional defense and hope we get lucky."
"Hope is not a strategy," Kael said.
"No, but it's all we have right now. So we hope, we plan, and we prepare for the worst while working toward the best possible outcome." I moved to the window, looking out at the castle courtyard where soldiers were already drilling, preparing for the battle to come. "Six days. We can do a lot in six days."
"Or die trying."
"Always the optimist," I said, but there was no real humor in it.
Because he was right. We might very well die trying. All of us.
But we'd die fighting, which was better than the alternative of giving up.
And who knew? Maybe we'd get lucky. Maybe some miracle would occur in the next six days that would tip the odds in our favor.
Stranger things had happened.
Though at this point, I wasn't sure what could possibly be stranger than everything we'd already been through.
"Come on," Kael said, pulling me away from the window. "We have work to do. Plans to finalize, people to organize, and a kingdom to save. One step at a time."
"One step at a time," I agreed.
And we walked out of Elena's tower together, ready to face whatever the next six days would bring.