POV: Kael
The bounty hunters were dead before they hit the ground.
My power tore through them like paper, their bodies disintegrating into ash. I'd killed without hesitation, without mercy, without thought.
But the moment they were gone, I felt something new.
Regret? No. Satisfaction? Closer. Justice? Perhaps.
Whatever it was, it felt right.
"Kael!" Sera grabbed my arm. "Are you okay?"
I looked down at her. Glass sparkled in her hair from the shattered window. Her violet eyes were wide with fear—but not fear of me. Fear for me.
No one had feared for me in three thousand years.
"I'm fine," I said. Then I frowned. "Actually, I'm angry. And protective. And—" I touched my chest where that strange warmth lived. "Something else. What is this?"
"Adrenaline, probably. Your heart's racing."
"My heart." I pressed my hand harder against my chest. "I haven't felt it beat in millennia. Now it's—what did you say? Racing?"
"Yeah, that happens when you're in danger or scared or—"
"Or near you." I stared at her. "It always races near you. Why?"
She blushed. Actually blushed. Her cheeks turned pink, and I was fascinated by the color spreading across her skin.
"That's... we can talk about that later." She looked at the broken window. "Right now, we need to figure out who helped them get in."
She was right. The palace had barriers that should have kept mortals out. Someone had lowered them. Someone in my own court.
The door burst open. Theron ran in, sword drawn, Finn right behind him. They both stopped at the sight of the ash piles on my floor.
"You're alive," Theron said, relieved.
"Obviously." I kept Sera behind me, not ready to let her go yet. "Bounty hunters. They got through the barriers."
"That's impossible," Finn said. "Unless—"
"Unless someone from inside helped them." Theron's expression darkened. "We have a traitor."
"Several traitors, actually." A new voice came from the window.
I spun around. Lady Elara stood on the ledge outside, balanced perfectly on the broken glass. She smiled that cold smile of hers.
"You." My power gathered, ready to destroy her like I'd destroyed the hunters.
"Me." She didn't look afraid. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. You've been a terrible emperor since you started feeling again. Distracted. Weak. Obsessed with a mortal girl."
"I will kill you slowly," I promised.
"No, you won't." She gestured, and more figures appeared—immortals this time. Twelve of them, all members of my court. All people I'd trusted. "Because if you do, they'll all attack at once. And in the chaos, someone will kill your precious Soulweaver."
Sera's hand gripped my arm tighter.
"What do you want?" I demanded.
"Simple. Give us the girl. Step down from the throne. Let someone more suitable rule." Lady Elara's eyes glittered. "Someone who hasn't been compromised by emotions."
"You're insane if you think—"
"Think carefully, Kael." She pulled out a device—mortal technology, a phone. "I have Marcus Thornwell on speed dial. One call, and I tell him exactly where Sera Winters is hiding. How many bounty hunters do you think will come for five hundred thousand dollars? Hundreds? Thousands?"
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. "You would ally with mortals? Betray your own kind?"
"My own kind abandoned honor the moment you brought that thing into our court." She pointed at Sera with disgust. "She's corrupted you. Made you weak. Made you feel."
"Feeling doesn't make me weak," I said quietly. "It makes me dangerous."
I moved faster than any of them could react. My power exploded outward, creating a shield around Sera while I appeared in front of Lady Elara.
My hand wrapped around her throat.
"You threatened her," I said softly. "That was your last mistake."
"Wait!" Sera's voice cut through my rage. "Kael, don't! If you kill her, the others will attack. There are too many!"
She was right. I could kill Elara easily. But the other twelve immortals would swarm, and in that chaos, Sera could be hurt.
I couldn't let that happen.
Slowly, hating every second of it, I released Elara's throat and stepped back.
She gasped, rubbing her neck. "Smart choice. Perhaps you haven't lost all your strategic thinking to emotions."
"Get out," I said coldly. "Take your traitors with you. But know this—the moment Sera is safe, the moment I don't have to worry about protecting her, I will hunt each of you down. There will be no mercy. No quick death. You will learn exactly why I was feared for three thousand years."
Elara smiled. "We'll take our chances." She looked at Sera. "Enjoy your borrowed time, Soulweaver. It won't last long."
They disappeared in flashes of light.
The moment they were gone, my legs nearly gave out. Not from weakness. From the overwhelming surge of emotions I didn't know how to process.
"Kael?" Sera touched my face. "Hey. Breathe. You're okay."
"I wanted to kill her," I said. "The rage—it was consuming. I've never felt anything so intense."
"That's what happens when someone threatens people you care about."
People you care about. Did I care about Sera? Was that what this feeling was?
"This is exhausting," I muttered. "How do you live with emotions all the time?"
"Badly." She smiled, and despite everything, I felt that warmth in my chest again. "But we manage."
"Your Majesty," Theron approached carefully. "We need to secure the palace. Find all the traitors. Double the guards on—"
"Later." I waved him off. "First, we need to get Sera and her friend somewhere truly safe. Somewhere the traitors can't find them."
"I know a place," Finn offered. "An old safehouse in the lower city. No one's used it in centuries. Even most of the court has forgotten it exists."
"Good. Take Sera's friend there. Theron, you go with them." I pulled Sera closer. "Sera stays with me."
"Kael, I can—" Sera started.
"No." My grip tightened. "You almost died. Twice. In the past hour. You're not leaving my sight."
"You're being overprotective."
"I don't care." I realized I was touching her face again, unable to help myself. "I don't know what I'm feeling, but the thought of you dying makes everything inside me want to break. So you're staying with me. End of discussion."
Theron and Finn exchanged looks.
"He's got it bad," Finn whispered.
"So bad," Theron agreed.
"I can hear you," I said flatly.
"We know." Finn grinned. "Come on, scary emperor. Let's get everyone to safety before more people try to kill your girlfriend."
"She's not my—" I stopped. Looked at Sera. "What's a girlfriend?"
"We'll explain later," Sera said quickly, her cheeks pink again.
We moved through the palace quickly, gathering Luna and heading to the lower city. Finn was right—the safehouse was old and forgotten, but secure. The walls were reinforced with ancient magic even I'd forgotten how to break.
"We'll be safe here for now," Theron said. "At least until we figure out how many traitors there are."
Luna collapsed onto a dusty sofa. "This is my life now. Hiding in magic bunkers from immortal conspiracies. Great. Just great."
"I'll get you home safely," I promised. "Once this is over."
"Yeah? When will that be? Because from where I'm sitting, things are getting worse, not better." She looked at Sera. "No offense, but knowing you has become very dangerous."
Sera's face fell. "I'm sorry, Luna. I never meant for—"
"I know." Luna sighed. "I'm not blaming you. I'm just tired and scared and I really want to go home."
"Soon," I promised. Then I turned to Sera. "You. Come with me."
I led her to a small room in the back of the safehouse. It had one window, one bed, and shelves of ancient books.
"You should rest," I said.
"I'm not tired."
"You're exhausted. I can see it." I touched her face again, unable to stop myself. "Your eyes have shadows beneath them. Your shoulders are tense. You need sleep."
"So do you."
"I don't need—" I stopped. "Actually, I do. I need sleep now. That's new."
Despite everything, she smiled. "Welcome to being alive."
"It's terrible. I hate it." But even as I said it, I felt that warmth again. Being alive meant feeling exhausted and overwhelmed and terrified.
But it also meant feeling this. Whatever this was with her.
"Tell me a joke," I said suddenly.
She blinked. "What?"
"A joke. You mentioned humor earlier. I want to understand it."
"Kael, we almost died. Multiple times. You want to talk about jokes?"
"Yes." I sat on the bed, pulling her down beside me. "If I'm going to feel everything, I want to feel the good things too. Not just fear and anger and worry. Show me something that makes you happy."
She bit her lip, thinking. Then she said, "Okay. Why don't scientists trust atoms?"
I frowned. "I don't know. Why?"
"Because they make up everything!"
I stared at her. Waited for understanding. Nothing came. "I don't understand."
"Atoms. They literally make up everything—all matter. But 'make up' also means to lie. So it's a play on words."
"That's... humor?"
"Bad humor, yeah."
"I still don't understand why it's funny."
She laughed—actually laughed—at my confusion. The sound was bright and clear, and it made something in my chest ache in the best way.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "That sound—what is that?"
"Laughing. It's what happens when something's funny or when you're happy or—" She kept laughing. "Sorry, your face is just so serious while you try to figure out jokes. It's adorable."
"Adorable?" I frowned. "I'm the Undying Emperor. I'm not adorable."
That made her laugh harder.
And looking at her—eyes bright, smile wide, that musical sound filling the small room—I felt something shift inside me.
I wanted to make her do that again. Wanted to be the reason for that sound.
"How do I make you laugh?" I asked seriously.
"You just did."
"I didn't do anything."
"Exactly." She wiped tears from her eyes. "Sometimes the funniest things are unintentional."
I didn't understand. But I wanted to.
"Teach me," I said. "How to make you laugh on purpose."
She thought for a moment. "Well, there are jokes. Or funny stories. Or—" Her eyes lit up. "Have you ever been tickled?"
"Tickled?"
Before I could ask what that meant, her fingers touched my ribs.
An explosion of sensation hit me. Not pain. Not pleasure. Something between them that made my body jerk involuntarily.
"What—" I tried to speak, but she did it again, and a sound burst from my throat.
Laughter.
I was laughing.
The sound echoed through the small room, unfamiliar and strange and wonderful. I couldn't control it. Couldn't stop it. My body shook with it, tears forming in my eyes.
"Stop!" I managed to gasp. "That's—what is that?"
Sera pulled back, grinning. "That's tickling. And that's your laugh."
My laugh. I'd just laughed for the first time in three thousand years.
The sound must have been loud, because suddenly there were footsteps. The door burst open.
Theron stood there, sword drawn, ready for battle. Finn behind him. Luna peering over their shoulders.
"What happened?" Theron demanded. "We heard—" He stopped, staring at me. "Were you... laughing?"
"I think I was." I touched my face, feeling wetness. "Are these tears? From joy?"
"Yeah." Sera was still smiling. "Happy tears."
Theron's expression shifted from concern to wonder to something that looked like relief. "I never thought I'd hear that sound again."
"Again?" I asked.
"You used to laugh. Before the curse. When you were young." Theron's voice was soft. "You were happy once. Long ago."
Before I could respond, Finn bounded in. "Teach me! How did you make him laugh? I want to try!"
"No." I backed away. "That sensation is too intense. No more tickling."
But I was smiling. I couldn't seem to stop.
Sera watched me with something in her eyes I couldn't name. Warmth. Affection. Something more.
"Now it's your turn," I declared.
"My turn for what?"
"To laugh." I stepped toward her, determination filling me. "You made me laugh. I want to make you laugh."
"Kael, you don't have to—"
"Tell me how. What's funny?"
She bit her lip, clearly trying not to smile. "I don't know. Different things for different people."
"Then I'll try everything." I thought hard. "A chicken... crosses a road..."
She burst out laughing. "That's not how it works!"
"But you're laughing!" I felt triumph surge through me. "I did it!"
"You're laughing because I'm terrible at jokes!" But she was smiling, and that was all that mattered.
"That sound," I said, moving closer. "Make it again."
"I can't just laugh on command!"
"Try." Our faces were close now. "Please."
She smiled instead, soft and real, and somehow that was better than laughter. Her hand reached up, touching my face.
"You're changing," she whispered. "Every moment with you, you're more alive."
"Because of you." My hand covered hers. "Only because of you."
Our eyes met. Held. Something electric passed between us—an understanding, a connection deeper than words.
This was more than gratitude. More than fascination.
This was—
The window exploded.
Not with bounty hunters this time.
With Morvana.
She appeared in a flash of dark power, and she wasn't alone. Behind her stood Marcus—my ex-fiancé from the mortal realm—and dozens of warriors.
"Found you," Morvana purred. She looked at Marcus. "That's her. Sera Winters. The Soulweaver. Take her alive."
Marcus smiled, cruel and cold. "Hello, Sera. Miss me?"
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was what I saw behind them.
My grandmother. Kael's grandmother. Standing with Morvana.
"I'm sorry, grandson," she said softly. "But the Soulweaver is too dangerous to live. This is for the good of all realms."
The woman who blessed me staying here. Who said she liked me.
Had betrayed us.
And as Morvana's power filled the room and Marcus's men closed in, I realized something horrible.
We'd been betrayed by everyone.
There was nowhere left to run.