The rift snapped shut with a final crack that left the air smelling of ozone and burnt stone. Aiden stood at the edge of the crater, chest heaving, white hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood. Golden eyes stared at nothing.

Fresh fracture lines glowed under the torn edges of his collar, running down both arms like cracked glass lit from inside. A thin line of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

The Empress kept her arm around his waist longer than she needed to. Her grip was firm, fingers pressing just under the edge of his damaged breastplate.

"Lean on me," she said quietly, voice low enough that only he heard. "The troops are watching."

Aiden didn’t argue. His legs felt like they belonged to someone else. Together they walked back toward the forward command tent, her amber hair brushing his shoulder with every step.

Behind them, the surviving soldiers and nobles stayed silent. Catherine’s words still hung over the field like smoke.

How many more times will you let her hold you up while we break?

No one repeated it out loud, but everyone had heard.

Inside the tent the air was thick with the smell of oiled canvas and old blood. The Empress guided Aiden to the central table and pushed him down onto a stool.

Without asking, she started unbuckling the straps of his left pauldron. Her hands moved steadily, clinical at first, then slower.

"You’re fracturing faster every time," she said. She dipped a cloth in a basin of water and wiped the blood from his lips. The cloth came away red. "That last surge echoed straight through the bond. I felt it hit them too."

Aiden’s jaw tightened. "They can handle it."

"Can they?" The Empress traced one glowing fracture line across his collarbone with her fingertip. The touch was light, but it sent a jolt through him that had nothing to do with pain.

"Catherine looked ready to drag every mother and daughter out of here. The nobles saw it. The troops saw it. You looked weak in front of both."

She leaned in closer to examine the damage on his chest. Her red eyes met his golden ones from less than a foot away. Her breath was warm against his skin.

"The new rift on the horizon is smaller," she continued, voice dropping. "But it’s different. It’s pulling directly from your surges now.

Like it’s learning how much you can give before the harem starts cracking with you. When the pain jumped to them, how bad was it for you?"

"Bad enough." Aiden’s voice came out rough. He didn’t pull away when her fingers slid lower, tracing the edge of another fracture that disappeared under his armor.

The Empress smiled faintly. "You need to decide how much longer you let them drag you down. I can handle the disloyal ones if you want.

Quietly. Or not so quietly." Her hand moved to the next buckle on his armor. "Let me help you out of this before it cuts into you any deeper."

She worked the strap free. The metal piece came away with a soft clank. Her body shifted closer as she reached around him to loosen the side plates.

Amber hair fell across his bare shoulder. Their faces were inches apart now. Aiden could smell the faint scent of smoke and something sharper, like spiced wine, on her skin.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Then boots pounded outside the tent. A runner burst in, breathing hard.

"Lord Commander, reports coming in. Three squads from the eastern companies have deserted. They took their gear and headed toward the supply road. The nobles are talking openly now. They’re saying the harem is cursed and you’re letting it kill us all."

The Empress straightened but kept one hand resting on Aiden’s arm, possessive in front of the soldier. "Send riders after the deserters. Bring back the leaders alive if possible. The rest can hang as examples."

The runner saluted and left.

Aiden exhaled slowly. "Summon Catherine and Sabrina. Now."

---

Half a mile away, near the supply wagons behind the defensive wall, the harem women had gathered in a loose circle. Torches flickered. The air still carried the distant rumble of settling stone from the sealed rift.

Catherine stood with her arms crossed, shoulder to shoulder with Sabrina. Both women still had fresh blood on their armor.

Flora paced a few steps away, jaw clenched. Luna sat on an overturned crate, staring at her hands.

Sabrina spoke first, voice flat. "You said what we were all thinking, Catherine. He’s replacing us while we bleed for him. Every surge pulls more out of us now. I felt it hit Luna like a hammer."

Catherine nodded once. "And I felt it hit Flora. I’m done watching my daughter pay for his power. If walking away means the fractures kill us, then we find another way. But I won’t keep pretending this bond is worth it."

Flora stopped pacing and turned on her mother. "Your little speech just painted targets on all of us.

The Empress looked like she won the war. Aiden looked like a man who can’t control his own women anymore. What do you think the nobles are going to do with that?"

"I think they’re going to do what they always do," Catherine said. "Look for weakness. Better they see it now than when we’re all dead because he can’t stop pushing us."

Luna lifted her head. Her voice was quiet but steady. "The fractures connect everything. If we break the bond, what happens to us? Do we just shatter too?"

Sabrina’s expression hardened. "I’d rather burn the whole connection than watch you die for him, Luna. You’re my daughter. Not his tool."

Isolde moved through the group like smoke. She stopped beside Catherine first.

"The troops heard every word," she said softly. "Some of them are already whispering that the mothers are finished kneeling. It’s spreading faster than the fractures."

Then Isolde turned to Flora and Luna. "Your mothers just chose you over him in front of the entire army. That changes everything. Whether you like it or not."

Flora glared at her. "Don’t stir this more than it already is."

"I’m not stirring," Isolde replied. "I’m stating facts. The formation is broken. You can feel it in the bond. So can he."

---

Back in the command tent, Catherine and Sabrina arrived together. They stopped just inside the flap, eyes flicking to the Empress seated beside Aiden, her hand still resting openly on his forearm.

Aiden looked up. The fracture lines on his arms pulsed faintly. "Catherine. Sabrina. We need to talk about the new rift."

Catherine’s gaze stayed cold. "Talk then."

"The Dungeon is adapting faster," Aiden said. "The next tear is smaller but it’s feeding off the surges directly. We can’t afford more public displays like what happened out there."

"Public displays?" Catherine’s voice was sharp. "You mean me saying out loud what everyone can already see? You’re leaning on her more every fight. While we take the echo damage. While our daughters take it worse."

Sabrina added, "Mothers come first. That’s not changing. Not after today."

The Empress leaned back slightly, but her hand didn’t leave Aiden’s arm. "Careful. The nobles are already gathering troops. Your little stand gave them exactly the excuse they needed."

Catherine met the Empress’s red eyes without flinching. "Then maybe they see the truth. We’re not disposable."

Aiden’s golden eyes narrowed. Pain flared through the bond as his anger rose. He felt it echo back to all four women. Flora and Luna weren’t here, but he knew they felt it too.

Before he could speak again, Catherine continued. "From now on, both mother-daughter pairs fight together. No more separating us into support roles. We stay paired. That’s not a request."

Sabrina nodded once.

The Empress’s lips curved in a faint smile. She said nothing.

Aiden’s fingers tightened on the edge of the table. "You’re making this harder than it has to be."

"No," Catherine said. "We’re making it clear. We protect our daughters first. Everything else comes after."

A scout pushed into the tent, face pale. "Lord Commander. The new rift is already growing. Faster than the last one. We have maybe four hours before it stabilizes."

Aiden met the Empress’s red eyes. The air between them felt thick again.

"We move at dusk," he said.