The return to the Olympus stronghold wasn't the triumphant parade the Council had likely expected. There were no fanfares, no speeches—only the rhythmic, heavy thrum of the transport's engines and the deafening silence between Kasper and me.
We were covered in the dust of the Forbidden Woods and the literal ashes of a King. Max had met us at the clearing with a medical team, but Kasper had waved them off with a snarl that silenced even the most seasoned combat medics. He wouldn't let anyone touch me. He had carried me into the transport himself, his arms locked around me like iron bands, his heart beating a frantic, jagged rhythm against my shoulder.
By the time the elevator doors of the private quarters hissed shut behind us, the adrenaline had begun to curdle into something else—a raw, aching Need that went beyond the physical.
