The next day , everything changed .
He requested her presence constantly . Meetings . Debriefings . Private councils .
The court whispered .
" You have made yourself a target ," Commander Varek warned her in passing . They shall think you have the Prince is ear — and more ."
Elira ignored it .
But late that night , as she returned from the archive , she found Caelum waiting in her path .
He said nothing . Just fell into a step beside her .
And after a moment , when no one was watching , their hands brushed .
Once .
Twice .
The third time , she let her fingers linger .
So did he .
Neither spoke of it . But they did not pull away .
They walked in silence until the torches gave way to moonlight , the stone corridors of the inner keep fading behind them . Outside the garden slumbered — ivy curling like fingers around the marble columns , silver dew clinging to the petals of nightbloom .
Caelum did not speak but his presence was louder than words . She could feel his shape in the dark . The heat where their hands still touched .
" Why are you here ?" She asked at last , voice barely above the wind .
" I should ask you the same ," he murmured .
" At this hour ?"
Elira looked away . " Knowledge does not keep court hours ."
A faint smile ghosted his lips but it did not reach his eyes . " They are watching you ."
" So I have been told ."
His fingers tightened , just slightly around hers . Not possessive . Not pleading . Just present .
" You should not be seen with me like this ," she said . " Not so often . Not alone ."
He turned to face her fully . " Then tell me to go ."
She did not .
The quiet stretched between them , taut as a drawn bow . Somewhere beyond the hedge , an owl called . A pair of guards is boots echoed faintly off the Northern wall .
" You are not like them ," he said .
" Who ?"
" The court . The others . You do not play their games .
" I do not have time for games ."
Caelum is expression shifted — something old and guarded softening at the edges .
" Good ," he said . " Because I am done playing them , too ."
And then he let go . The warmth of his hand faded almost instantly .
He did not look back as he walked away . But Elira stood still in the garden long after he vanished into shadow — aware for the first time , that proximity could be more dangerous than distance .
The marble hall was never truly silent .
Even in the early light , when the sun had barely crested the horizon and the servants moved like ghosts among the stone pillars , the echoes of whispered deals and sharpened glances lingered in the air .
Elira had walked these halls for three years .
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