Aria's POV
I woke up and he was gone.
Not just gone from the bed. Gone from the room. Gone from wherever the hell they'd put me after we got back to the palace because this wasn't Kael's quarters and the sheets didn't smell like him and the bond in my chest was screaming like something vital had been ripped away.
I sat up too fast. The room spun. Pain lanced through my skull sharp enough to make me gasp.
Wrong. Everything was wrong.
The room was nice. Too nice. Expensive furniture and soft lighting and the kind of careful neutrality that screamed guest quarters. Somewhere safe. Somewhere appropriate.
Somewhere far enough from Kael that my body was staging a full revolt.
I made it to the bathroom before I threw up.
Nothing came out except bile and the taste of panic. I gripped the sink with shaking hands and stared at my reflection. Pale. Dark circles under my eyes. A bruise on my collarbone that looked like a thumbprint.
His thumbprint.
The bond pulled. Hard. Insistent. Trying to drag me toward wherever he was like a fishhook caught in my ribs.
I'd felt this before. Back when the heat had me and being away from him felt like dying. But this was worse. Sharper. More demanding.
Because the bond was stronger now.
Because we'd crossed lines we couldn't uncross.
Because my body had decided Kael was essential and everything else was negotiable.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand.
I stumbled back into the bedroom. Grabbed it. The screen was full of notifications. Missed calls from Iris. Texts from a number I didn't recognize. A news alert about an emergency Council session.
I opened Iris's messages first.
Iris: omg are you okay?? I saw the news about the bridge
Iris: everyone's saying the Alpha King went crazy
Iris: Aria please tell me you're safe
Iris: I'm worried call me when you can
All from last night. Nothing this morning.
I tried calling her. It rang once. Then a voice I didn't recognize picked up.
Male. Calm. Professional.
"Aria Morgan."
Ice flooded my veins. "Who is this? Where's Iris?"
"Your friend is fine. Comfortable. Fed. Unharmed." A pause. "For now."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think past the white noise screaming in my head.
"If you hurt her—"
"No one wants to hurt anyone. We just need you to make the right choice today." The voice was so calm it made my skin crawl. "The Council session starts at noon. You'll be asked to testify. When they ask you about the Alpha King, you'll tell them he's been kind. Professional. That you want to leave. That you don't want his protection anymore."
"And if I don't?"
"Then Iris stops being comfortable."
The line went dead.
I stood there staring at my phone. At Iris's smiling face on my lock screen. At the time stamp that said it was already eleven fifteen.
Forty-five minutes.
The door opened without a knock.
Dr. Chen walked in carrying a medical bag and an expression that said she'd rather be anywhere else.
"You look terrible," she said.
"Thanks. Love you too."
"I'm serious. When did you last see the Alpha King?" She was already pulling out equipment. Blood pressure cuff. Thermometer. Stethoscope.
"Last night. I think. Everything after the bridge is kind of blurry." I sat on the bed because standing felt impossible. "Why? What's wrong?"
"You're bonded."
"I know that."
"No. You're bonded bonded. Scent bond is one thing. This?" She wrapped the cuff around my arm. Started pumping. "This is different. Stronger. Your vitals are all over the place. Heart rate elevated. Blood pressure dropping. Temperature spiking." The cuff hissed as she released it. "You're going into separation distress."
"In English?"
"Your body thinks being away from him is life-threatening. It's shutting down non-essential functions to conserve energy for getting back to him." She pulled out the thermometer. Stuck it under my tongue. "If you stay separated too long, you'll get worse. Fever. Delirium. Eventually your system will just give up."
The thermometer beeped. She looked at it and swore.
"How long do I have?"
"Before what? Before you pass out? Before you go into actual medical crisis?" She started packing up her equipment with sharp, angry movements. "Depends on how strong the bond is. Could be hours. Could be days. But Aria, you need to understand what's happening. This isn't normal. This isn't even normal for fated mates. This is something else entirely."
"What does that mean?"
"It means someone needs to study this. Figure out why your bond is so strong so fast." She stood. Looked at me with something like pity. "It also means the Council is going to have opinions. Medical opinions. Legal opinions. Political opinions."
"They're going to use this against him."
"They're going to use this against both of you." She moved toward the door. Stopped. "For what it's worth, I don't think he meant for this to happen. I don't think either of you did. But intention doesn't matter anymore. The bond does."
She left.
I sat there trying to process. Separation distress. Medical crisis. The bond getting stronger instead of fading.
My phone buzzed again. Unknown number. Different from before.
I almost didn't open it.
Wish I hadn't.
It was a photo. Iris. In a chair. Hands zip-tied behind her back. Tape over her mouth. Eyes wide and terrified.
Below it, a message: Tick tock. Session starts in 30 minutes. Make the right choice.
I stared at the photo until my vision blurred. Until I couldn't tell if I was looking at the screen or just remembering. Until the bond in my chest pulled so hard I gasped.
Kael would know what to do. Kael would have a plan.
Kael couldn't know about this because the second he did, he'd burn the whole palace down to find her and that was exactly what they wanted.
Someone knocked. Polite. Professional.
"Miss Morgan? It's time."
I shoved the phone in my pocket. Stood on legs that shook. Walked to the door.
Ashford stood on the other side with two guards. Her face was carefully neutral but I saw the tension in her shoulders. The way her hand rested on her weapon.
"The Council has requested your presence," she said.
"Requested."
"Required." She stepped aside. Gestured down the hall. "This way."
The walk to the Council chambers felt like a funeral march. Long hallways. Too many guards. Wolves staring as we passed. Whispering.
I caught fragments. "That's her." "Can't believe he'd risk everything for—" "Heard she's got abilities." "Dangerous."
The bond pulled harder with every step. Kael was close. Somewhere in this building. Close enough that my body was screaming to find him.
The Council chamber doors were massive. Dark wood. Gold handles. The kind of doors that said important things happened behind them.
Ashford stopped. "They're already in session. You'll enter when called. Answer questions truthfully and completely. Don't volunteer information. Don't argue with Council members." She looked at me. Really looked. "And Miss Morgan? Whatever happens in there, stay calm. Don't let them see you break."
"What if I'm already broken?"
"Then fake it until you're not."
The doors opened.
The chamber was exactly what I'd expected. Circular. Tiered seating rising up like a gladiator arena. Council members arranged in a semicircle. And at the center, standing alone, was Kael.
He looked worse than I felt. Jaw tight. Shoulders rigid. Hands fisted at his sides like he was physically restraining himself from moving. There was blood on his collar. A cut above his eye that hadn't healed yet.
His eyes found mine across the room and the bond flared so hot I stumbled.
"Miss Morgan." A voice from the upper tier. Cold. Female. I looked up and saw Vivian Kane watching me with the kind of smile that made my skin crawl. "How kind of you to join us. Please, come in. We have so many questions."
I walked down the steps. Each one harder than the last. The bond was screaming. Kael was right there. Twenty feet away. Close enough to touch.
Close enough to destroy everything if I did.
A chair waited at the center of the floor. Facing the Council. Facing away from Kael.
I sat.
Vivian stood. Smoothed her dress. Smiled like she'd already won.
"Let's begin with something simple." Her voice carried through the chamber. Clear. Controlled. Deadly. "Miss Morgan, how long have you been bonded to the Alpha King?"
Every eye in the room locked on me. Waiting. Watching.
In my pocket, my phone buzzed. Another message. Another reminder of what would happen if I gave the wrong answer.
Behind me, I felt Kael's presence like a physical thing. Felt his attention. Felt the bond begging me to turn around.
I kept my eyes on Vivian and lied through my teeth.
"I'm not bonded to anyone."
The chamber erupted.