“Mom, please calm down and let me explain.”Elara tried to keep her voice steady as she stood between her parents and Kade, but her attempt at calming them seemed to have the opposite effect. Diana was still staring at Kade with suspicion while Roland remained tense, his eyes moving between his daughter and the strange man who had brought her home in the middle of the night. Neither of them seemed willing to listen, especially after seeing the state Elara was in. She had expected questions, but she hadn’t expected the situation to become this heated so quickly.“Explain what, Elara?” Diana demanded, her voice trembling with anger and fear. “You disappear for hours, we have to call the police because we don’t know where you are, and then you suddenly come home with him? What are we supposed to think?”“Mom, that’s not what happened.”“Then what happened?” Roland interrupted sharply. “Why are you wearing a dress like that? And why is there blood on it?”Elara froze.She looked down at h

He continued before she could stop him. “I’ve made enemies over the years. More than I care to count. Some of them are powerful, some are dangerous, and some don’t care who they hurt as long as they can get to me. Elara was caught in the middle because of my enemies, and I can’t pretend otherwise.”Elara shook her head desperately. “No. Don’t say that.”Kade glanced at her.“This isn’t your fault,” she insisted. “You came to save me. You risked your life for me. If anything, I’m the one who should be apologizing for putting you through all of this.”“You didn’t put me through anything.”“But you’re taking the blame for something you didn’t do!”Kade’s expression remained calm, but his voice carried a weight that made the room quiet again. “Your mother is right about one thing. If I hadn’t been involved in your life, there’s a good chance none of this would have happened. The people who came after you weren’t interested in you. They wanted me.”Diana immediately pointed toward him.“Yo

Elara’s declaration left the room in stunned silence. Her parents stared at her as though she had suddenly announced that she intended to leave the country with a complete stranger. Diana was the first to recover, her eyes widening as she looked from her daughter to Kade and then back again. “Elara, what exactly are you saying?” she demanded, her voice rising with disbelief. “You’re going to let this man live here with us? In our home?” Roland also looked troubled, clearly unable to understand how his daughter could make such a decision after everything that had happened. Elara, however, stood her ground. She had already made up her mind, and for once she wasn’t going to allow everyone else to decide what was best for her.“Yes, I am,” Elara replied firmly. “You can keep hating Kade if you want, but what exactly has he done to deserve all of this hatred? Has he ever deliberately harmed any of us? Instead, every time something happened, he was the one who stepped forward to help me. Ha

Kade climbed the stairs without making a sound. He remembered Elara’s room from the last time he had visited her, and when he reached the door, he pushed it open with his shoulder before walking inside. The room was exactly as he remembered it, neat and quiet, with the faint scent of perfume lingering in the air. He crossed to the bed and carefully lowered Elara onto the mattress, making sure her head rested comfortably against the pillow before pulling the blanket over her.For several seconds, Kade simply watched her.She looked exhausted.The tension that had been etched across her face throughout the journey from Skull Island had not completely disappeared, even in unconsciousness. Kade could sense the instability in her breathing and the residual stress coursing through her body. The experience had taken more out of her than she had allowed anyone to see.He slowly raised his hand and placed two fingers against her forehead.A faint stream of Aether entered her body.Kade deliber

Lucan lowered his head again. “They said they had no intention of provoking the Iron Wolves. They believe Kade has reached a point where fighting him is no longer worth the risk. They would rather remain neutral than sacrifice their entire faction for the promise of becoming your godson.”A vein slowly appeared on the Sovereign’s forehead.Lucan immediately bowed until his forehead nearly touched the floor.“I apologize, Your Majesty. I have done everything within my ability, but they’ve become too powerful. Their forces have grown beyond what I can handle, and now their reputation alone is enough to frighten away most of the underground factions. If you truly intend to eliminate Kade and Victor, then I’m afraid…”He hesitated.“…you will have to intervene personally.”Silence.For several seconds, nothing moved inside the chamber.Then the Sovereign’s expression twisted with fury.“You useless piece of garbage.”Lucan’s body jolted.“I should have killed you after your first failure,