e frigid air. The bitter interrogation was officially over. The entire atmosphere of the hall shifted abruptly in an instant. This was no longer a petty inter

, firmly seizing the sobbing, collapsed Lydia, the pale terrified Faye, and Jed Tucker who sat rigidly on the ground with empty, numb eyes. They dragged the three culprits out of the grand hall without mercy. The towering iron-studded oak doors slamme

e a deadly apex predator slowly uncoiling its muscles before striking its prey. He strode steadily toward her, his to

w, emotionless murmur stripped of any trace of warmth or kindness. "Fa

nd suffocating degree. Sloane had to tilt her chin back slightly to hold steady against

"Before we talk about us, Your Highness, the internal chaos of my House must be

f cold warning flashing across his irises. "Are you

offering you a valuable political asset. A united, stable House Michael free of internal betrayal and strife wi

. "Are you referring to that special kind of 'use' you d

led to rattle her

understand this better than anyone alive. My Scarlet Fervor and your Frostb

rom his lips. Royal physicians had spent a whole decade exhaustively researching his fatal frost curse, yet never found a single effective solution or

without hesitation. "What happened in the forest tonight is only a temporary relief, a makeshift stopgap. Without standardized, cont

ightly to hers. From this moment on,

spinning rapidly to weigh all risks and benefits. After a long paus

ward. First, you must guarantee my lifelong personal safety unconditionally. Second, I need your tacit ro

dition sink deep into his mind. "In exchange, I will give you the one p

ing the gap between them further. "I

nly bargaining chip, laid ou

st you?" he questioned, his voice th

ss," she whispered, lowering her voice into a soft, intimate tone only for his ears, "I am the o

against his in the forest-a craving his body could not resist, even when his rational mind tried to re

d been trapped in an endless freezing winter for ten long

e, he finally yielded. "Lydia Michael

ion marked his co

ad undoubtedly won the first bru