...there was a thing waiting in the darkness, and he could not bring himself to fight it for much longer.

There was a thing waiting in the darkness.
It was ancient, and cruel, and paced in the shadows...

He was done with politics and intrigue. He loved her, and no empire, no king, and no earthly fear would keep him from her. No, if they tried to take her from him, he'd rip the world apart with his bare hands. And for some reason, that didn't terrify him.

The Wing Leader said from behind her, "Do you believe monsters are born, or made?"
From what she'd seen today, she would say some creatures were very much born evil. But what Manon was asking... "I'm not the one who needs to answer that question." Elide said.

That gods-damned nightgown.

The prince's sapphire eyes flicked to his, and Aedion blinked past the haze covering his vision. What studied him was cold, predatory, and not quite human.