~Ethan's POV
I closed my eyes. In that moment, centuries of loneliness pressed in on me all at once. Endless nights that never truly ended. Endless hunger that no feast ever satisfied. Endless power that filled rooms and bent people to their knees, yet never once filled the hollow space inside my chest.
I had ruled kingdoms. I had commanded armies with a single word. I had watched empires rise like proud flames and fall into dust just as easily. I had been feared, worshipped, and obeyed.
And still, I had never felt seen.
Until her.
She stood there, human and fragile and impossibly brave, looking at me like I was more than a crown or a monster. Like I was something worth knowing. Something worth loving.
My chest tightened painfully.
I opened my eyes and turned back to her.
She did not step away. She did not hesitate. She simply waited, as though she already knew the choice I was about to make, even if I did not yet understand it myself.
