Stay The Night

— Kharzak —

June left before dawn.

I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling and felt nothing I was supposed to feel.

That was the problem.

---

It had been four years.

Four years of this and nothing. No result. No heir. No continuation of anything I had built.

I had conquered three kingdoms.

The thought sat in my chest like a stone I couldn't move.

Torvak knocked once and entered.

He took one look at me and said nothing about what he saw.

Good man.

"June." He set the morning report on the table. "The seer confirmed it last night. The pregnancy was false."

I already knew.

"Remove her from the inner court," I said.

"Done."

The room was quiet.

"Get out," I said.

He left.

June had performed perfectly. Loyal. Exactly what this court required.

And underneath all of it — she had become ambitious. Making sure the one thing I needed most could happen.

I wasn't angry.

I was tired.

— Elirya —

The summons came.

Same attendant. Same blank face. Same hour.

I picked up the tray of oils and followed him without a word.

---

Aaron caught me in the corridor.

He stepped out of a shadow like he'd been waiting. Maybe he had.

"Elirya." His voice was low. Careful. "Perhaps you shouldn't—"

"Don't." I kept walking. "Go back to your post."

"I'm just saying—"

"I know what you're saying." I glanced at him once. "And I know you won't help me. So."

He stopped following.

I didn't blame him. Fear made cowards of everyone here. Including me, most days.

I just hid it better.

---

The steam hit before the door fully opened.

Oils. Herbs. Heat.

And underneath all of it — that scent. Something dark and animal that lived in the walls of this palace and was thickest here.

Kharzak was already in the water.

I knelt. Head down. Hands folded over the tray.

Breathe. Just breathe.

The silence stretched.

Then — "Are you a virgin."

The words landed flat. Not a question. A test.

My chest pulled tight.

Don't flinch. Don't hesitate. Say no.

"I am not," I said softly.

His eyes moved across my face.

I held still and let them.

He said nothing else.

But I felt his gazed lingered a little.

He was assessing me, I must not be found wanting.

The silence came back, heavier than before. I counted my own heartbeats and stared at the floor and waited for whatever came next.

---

I survived the bath.

I was in the corridor, tray in hand, telling myself to breathe normally — when the whispers found me.

June. The seer. A false pregnancy.

I kept walking. Kept my face empty.

But I listened.

June had tried to secure her place beside him the only way left to her. And the seer had unraveled it in front of the whole court.

She passed me in the corridor a minute later.

Head high. Face pale. Not broken — but close.

Our eyes didn't meet.

I didn't let myself feel anything about it.

*That could be me.* That was the only thought I allowed. *One mistake. That's all it takes.*

---

The second summons came three days later.

Same hour. Same attendant.

This time he led me to the main chamber, not the bath.

The room was large. Dark wood. Shelves of leather volumes. Silk curtains that caught the lamplight like water.

Everything in it said power before he even entered.

He entered anyway.

The guards withdrew. The door closed.

Just us.

I knelt. Head down. Hands flat on my thighs.

"Prepare the bath," he said.

I did.

---

When I came back into the main chamber he was watching me.

Not moving. Just — watching. The way he always did. Like I was a text he was still decoding.

"Bend over the desk."

My hands went cold.

Every instinct I had screamed.

I crossed to the desk. Pressed my palms to the wood. Kept my breathing even through sheer force of will.

He didn't move immediately.

And I felt his breath from behind,slow and dangerous as if waiting for a reaction.

Time stretched.

Then his hand touched my shoulder.

waited for my reaction.

I went completely still.

His voice came low, close. "You've never done this before."

I said nothing.

He studied me. A flicker of curiosity—or irritation—crossed his rugged features.

Few dared to present themselves as nothing when every moment of their lives demanded obedience and fear.

I knew that I intrigued him, and that intrigue simmered into something he could not yet name.

"Why did you lie to me."

My throat tightened. "I didn't mean to lie."

A pause.

"Where are you from."

"The eastern provinces."

"Which part."

"A small village. Nothing important."

He was quiet for a moment.

"Do you think I don't know more than you tell me?"

Yes, I thought. I think exactly that.

"I tell you only what I must," I said.

Another pause. Longer.

"You lie well." His voice dropped. "But I'm not yet satisfied."

I kept my eyes on the desk. On the grain of the wood. On nothing.

Then — "Stay the night."

I stopped breathing.

"In my chambers. You won't be touched. You will not leave."

Every memory I had of the other women. The one who came back dragging her feet. The silence that came after.

"I cannot," I whispered.

The air changed.

Not loudly. Just — shifted.

"Cannot," he repeated.

"My king." I lifted my head slightly. Not enough to meet his eyes. Just enough to show I wasn't defying him. "I'm scared please."

A long silence.

"Tomorrow then." His voice was flat again. Controlled. "When the time comes — do not resist me."

I bowed my head lower.

"Yes, my king."

Finally, with a dismissive nod, he turned away. The Alpha’s attention moved, but the mark of observation lingered on me.

---

Back in the servant quarters I sat on the cot and put my hands over my eyes.

They were shaking.

First time all night.

I survived, I told myself. Today that's enough.

Tomorrow was a different problem.

Tomorrow could wait.