The room went deathly still after Celestia's sharp command. Damien's gaze flickered toward her, the cold smirk still plastered on his face, but there was a dark glint in his eyes that made Kael's blood run cold. The tension between the three of them was palpable, a crackling energy that filled the air, almost suffocating.
Kael could feel it—the storm inside her. The conflict. She was torn. He could see it in the way her jaw clenched, the way her fingers twitched at her sides as if she were restraining herself from doing something she'd regret.
"You think you can protect her?" Damien's voice was low, venomous, his words meant to provoke. He took a step closer, his presence dark and suffocating, like the weight of an impending disaster. "You don't know the half of what she's capable of. What I can do for her."
Kael's hand twitched at his side, his elemental magic just beneath the surface, ready to explode. He could feel the burn of power in his veins, the urge to unleash it, to show Damien that he wasn't the only one with darkness in his soul.
But he held back. He had learned restraint. If Celestia was truly to be his, he couldn't let his rage control him. Not again.
"You're right," Kael said, his voice steady, despite the fire burning in his chest. "I don't know everything about her, but I know this much—she's not yours. Not anymore."
Celestia's eyes flickered between the two men, her expression unreadable. Her stance was rigid, and Kael could see the way she fought against the emotion she wanted to bury so deep. She hated being vulnerable, hated showing weakness. But there was no denying it—something between them had changed. Something that even she couldn't ignore.
"Enough!" Her voice rang out again, this time louder, a command that left no room for argument. "I don't need either of you fighting for me."
Damien's lips curled into a twisted smile, clearly not ready to back down. "We'll see about that, Celestia." His eyes moved toward Kael, and for a split second, something flickered in the depths of his gaze—a mix of jealousy, contempt, and a dangerous kind of obsession.
Without another word, Damien turned and strode out of the room, leaving behind an oppressive silence.
Kael exhaled, his hand still clenched into a fist. The adrenaline from the confrontation coursed through him, but he didn't allow himself to release it. Not yet. Not when everything still hung in the balance.
Celestia remained motionless for a moment longer, her gaze fixed on the spot where Damien had stood. Then, slowly, she turned toward Kael. Her eyes were stormy, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"You shouldn't have provoked him." Her voice was colder now, the walls she had built around herself rising once more. But Kael could see the cracks, the flickering vulnerability that still lingered beneath her hardened exterior.
"I didn't provoke him," Kael replied, his voice softer now, almost pleading. "I'm not going to let him control this—control you."
She didn't respond right away, her gaze drifting to the window as if searching for something beyond the city lights. "You don't understand," she whispered. "This isn't just about Damien. It's about what I've become. What I have to be."
Kael took a step toward her, his heart aching as he saw the pain in her eyes, the rawness of a past she couldn't escape. "You don't have to be anything for anyone," he said gently, his words falling like a quiet promise. "I'm here. And I'll fight for you. For both of us."
Her gaze snapped back to him, her eyes dark and filled with something he couldn't read. "What if you're wrong? What if we're both too broken to be fixed?"
Kael reached out, his fingers grazing her arm gently, as if afraid that if he touched her too hard, she would shatter like glass. "Then we'll break together," he said, his voice low but steady, filled with an unwavering resolve. "But we'll never stop trying."
For a long moment, Celestia stood there, her body rigid with conflict. Kael could see the war raging within her, the dark past she couldn't outrun clashing with the flicker of hope he had awakened in her heart. She was a queen, but she was also a woman—and in that moment, Kael realized that was what made her both beautiful and dangerous.
Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, Celestia stepped back, pulling away from his touch. Her eyes hardened, the walls rising once more around her heart.
"You don't know what you're asking for, Kael," she said, her voice cold once again. "But I'll let you try. I'll let you believe whatever you want to believe. But don't think for a second that this is going to be easy."
Kael's heart sank, but he nodded, knowing this was just the beginning. "I never thought it would be easy," he replied quietly, his voice filled with a resolve that was just as unbreakable as hers.
(As Celestia turned and walked away, Kael felt the weight of the moment settle over him. The battle for her heart was far from over—and it was only going to get darker from here.
But one thing was certain: he would never stop fighting. For her. For them.)