Thank you so much @Simona_ ursache for the Golden Ticket.

Thank you so much everyone for the power stones and support.

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Mass release here we go.

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Rosaline remained seated at the edge of the bed, her silver-white wings curled uneasily behind her while candlelight trembled across the walls. Outside the tall palace windows, the empire still breathed with noise and celebration beneath Emperor Darian’s ascension, but inside the chamber, everything felt strangely distant.

The room smelled faintly of cedarwood and burning wax.

Warm.

Safe.

Yet Rosaline could not stop trembling.

Xandros stood near the fireplace, his dark figure illuminated by shifting orange flames while his thoughts moved somewhere far beyond the room itself. The imperial council still waited for him. Nobles still whispered. Politics still sharpened its knives in hidden corners of the palace.

But none of that held his attention now.

His eyes remained on her.

Rosaline lowered her gaze toward her hands. Even now, silver light still pulsed faintly beneath her skin, flickering like trapped moonlight beneath porcelain.

"I hate this," she whispered.

This time, the words sounded smaller.

Tired.

Xandros crossed the room slowly before stopping in front of her. For a moment, neither spoke. Then he crouched slightly and reached toward her carefully, the same way one might approach something fragile enough to break.

"Lie down."

Rosaline blinked up at him. "I’m not a child."

"No," he agreed quietly. "You’re exhausted."

She wanted to argue.

She truly did.

But the pain lingering through her body felt unbearable now that the panic had faded. Her back ached heavily beneath the weight of the wings, and even breathing felt difficult.

Slowly, reluctantly, she shifted further onto the bed. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The wings immediately made the movement awkward.

One feather brushed against the carved wooden headboard, and Rosaline flinched as though embarrassed by their existence alone.

Xandros noticed.

Without a word, he moved behind her and adjusted the pillows against the headboard before carefully lifting one wing slightly to ease the pressure beneath it.

Rosaline froze instantly.

The touch was gentle.

Too gentle.

"You don’t have to look so horrified every time I touch them," he murmured.

Her cheeks warmed despite herself. "That’s because they are attached to me."

"And?"

"And it’s strange."

One corner of his mouth lifted faintly. "You became considerably stranger after midnight."

She glared weakly at him, though the exhaustion in her eyes ruined the effect entirely.

Xandros ignored the look and adjusted the blankets instead, drawing them over her legs before moving one wing more comfortably across the mattress.

The sight itself felt unreal.

Silver-white feathers spread across dark sheets beneath palace candlelight while Rosaline sat in the center of it all looking more celestial than human.

Beautiful.

Dangerously so.

Xandros looked away first....his thoughts were straying.

"You need rest."

Rosaline leaned back slowly against the pillows. The moment her body relaxed fully into the mattress, exhaustion struck harder than before. Her eyelids immediately felt heavier.

"I don’t want to sleep," she admitted quietly.

"Why?"

Her fingers tightened slightly against the blanket. "Because I’m afraid I’ll wake up and this will still be real."

For a moment, silence settled between them again.

Then Xandros reached forward unexpectedly and brushed a strand of white hair away from her face.

"It will still be real," he said calmly. "But you won’t face it alone."

The words settled somewhere deep inside her chest before she could stop them.

Rosaline looked at him for a long moment until she heard his voice "sleep."

Then slowly...

her eyes closed.

Xandros remained seated beside the bed while her breathing gradually softened into something steadier. Even asleep, her brows remained faintly furrowed, as though fear continued chasing her through dreams.

Carefully, he adjusted her position again when one wing twitched uncomfortably beneath her.

The feathers responded instinctively to his touch now.

Less defensive.

Less wild.

That alone disturbed him more than he cared to admit.

He had compelled her to sleep just now ....so just she would stop thinking.

By the time her breathing deepened completely, the chamber had fallen into near silence.

Xandros remained there a while longer.

Watching.

Thinking.

Then finally, he rose from the bed and moved toward the chamber doors.

The moment he opened them, another figure appeared almost immediately from the shadows beyond the corridor.

Seth.

Unlike his usual composed demeanor, the man’s pale expression sharpened instantly the moment he sensed the lingering magic inside the room.

"She’s asleep?"

"Yes."

Seth glanced briefly toward the closed chamber doors before looking back at Xandros. "Good."

Xandros’ gaze narrowed slightly. "You sound relieved."

"I am." he said... because he knew that his master would not leave if she was awake and he had a lot to get done right now.

The palace corridor remained dimly lit, golden lanterns flickering softly against dark marble walls while distant footsteps echoed somewhere far below. Seth folded his arms quietly, his eyes almost glowing beneath the candlelight.

"You need to make sure she stays here tonight," he said. "And make sure no one enters that room."

"She isn’t leaving."

Seth nodded once before adding carefully, "And she must not wander if she wakes up."

Something about the statement sharpened Xandros’ attention immediately.

"Explain."

But Seth only shook his head slightly. "Not yet."

Xandros hated vague answers.

Seth knew that.

Still, the gentleman remained calm beneath the Duke’s stare.

"She’s tired right now, right?," Seth continued. "The palace is the safest place for her tonight."

Xandros remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. "Watch the corridor."

"And you?"

"I’m reminding an emperor who truly placed him on that throne."

Without another word, Xandros turned and walked away.

The deeper imperial halls remained silent at this hour.

Most nobles had already retired after the assembly while servants moved carefully beneath dim lanternlight, their heads lowered whenever they passed him. Guards stationed outside the emperor’s private study straightened immediately at his approach.

The doors opened before he even touched them.

Inside, Emperor Darian stood near the massive windows overlooking the sleeping capital.

The moonlight spilling through the glass sharpened his appearance into something almost inhumanly beautiful. Dark hair brushed against the collar of his formal robes, while his eyes gleamed faintly crimson beneath the shadows.

Vampire.

Not many knew.

No one would survive discovering it.

Darian turned slowly when Xandros entered, though unlike the rest of the empire, he did not bow.

Still...

there was something careful in the way he stood.

Something restrained.

Because despite the crown now resting upon his head, they both knew the truth.

Xandros held more power than the throne itself.

"You took longer than expected," Darian said quietly.

Xandros shut the study doors behind him. "And you’re still alive."

A faint smile touched the emperor’s mouth.

"You truly enjoy reminding people of that."

"They should remember it."

Darian studied him for a moment before moving toward the large desk positioned near the center of the room.

The study smelled faintly of old books, ink, and smoke.

Warm firelight danced across dark shelves lined with imperial records stretching back centuries.

"You frightened the council tonight," Darian said.

"Good."

"That answer becomes less charming every time."

"It was never meant to be charming."

The emperor exhaled softly before leaning against the desk. "The eastern nobles are already questioning my succession."

"They would have questioned anyone."

"Yes," Darian agreed quietly. "But they question me louder because I’m young."

"You are young."

"And still you chose me."

Xandros finally sat down across from him, his expression unreadable beneath the shifting shadows.

"I chose someone intelligent enough to understand debt."

That made Darian laugh softly.

"You speak to your emperor very boldly."

"You’re emperor because I allowed it."

The words settled heavily inside the room.

Darian’s smile faded slightly after that.

Not from offense.

From truth.

Outside the public eye, there existed no illusion between them.

The empire belonged to Darian officially.

But the shadows beneath it belonged entirely to Xandros.

The emperor’s crimson eyes narrowed slightly. "The council wants reassurance that Dagon remains stable."

"Then give it to them."

"And if they ask about the old bloodlines?"

Xandros’ gaze sharpened slightly.

"They won’t."

Darian noticed immediately.

Very interesting.

But before he could ask another question, Xandros stood.

"I didn’t come here for politics."

The emperor blinked faintly. "No?"

"No."

For the first time that evening, something colder entered Xandros’ expression.

"Do not let tonight’s gathering leave this palace."

Darian straightened slightly. "What happened?"

"That isn’t your concern."

The answer came too quickly to challenge.

Darian studied him quietly before finally nodding once. "Very well."

Xandros moved toward the doors again.

Then paused.

"The council will continue testing you," he said without turning back. "Crush it early before it grows teeth."

The emperor’s lips curved faintly. "You say that like experience."

"It is."

Then he left.

Meanwhile...

Rosaline dreamed.

At first, there was darkness.

Not frightening darkness.

Peaceful darkness.

Then slowly...

light appeared.

Soft sunlight spilled across endless green fields swaying gently beneath a bright sky. Wildflowers danced beneath the wind while the distant sound of flowing water echoed faintly nearby.

Rosaline stirred slowly.

Grass brushed against her fingertips.

Warm sunlight touched her face.

For a moment, confusion clouded everything.

Then she sat up sharply.

Her breath caught instantly.

A lush green meadow stretched endlessly before her, breathtaking beneath golden sunlight. Tall trees surrounded the open field like ancient guardians while silver flowers bloomed wildly beneath the breeze.

And somehow...

she recognized it immediately.

Her heart began pounding.

"Yes..."

The whisper left her lips before she could stop it.

Because she knew this place.

Right from dreams.

Real memory.

The realization settled into her chest slowly, terrifyingly, while the wind lifted strands of her white hair beneath the endless sky.

And somewhere in the distance...

she heard voices.