Page 211 of Elemental Becoming

Last night should have buried her. I was terrified the first time I stepped before the court in place of Father. Instead, Amara walked into that ballroom and faced nobles, councilors, and predators who would happily tear apart any weakness they found.

She stepped into the lion’s den and handled it with such graceand boldness. Not once did she let them see her bleed.

Then Ardyn fucking approached her.

My stomach tightens at the memory.

By all the gods.

I should have anticipated it. Ardyn never could leave wounds untouched once she found them. And Amara is already carrying enough invisible scars to drown beneath.

The guilt settles heavy beneath my ribs. I’ve got to be better. Do better. To protect Amara where I can.

Whether I like it or not, there are things I cannot protect her from. I will fight beside her until my last breath. I will throw myself before any blade, any shadow, any monster this realm unleashes if it means she survives.

But I cannot stop what she is destined to face. That truth haunts me more than anything.

Then, she went from the lion’s den and stepped into hell. Fucking Shadow Forces in the capital. I never thought I’d see the day.

I should have positioned more guards near the eastern corridor. Should have seen the fractures forming before the night shattered apart completely. Every decision I make now carries lives beside it, and last night proved how quickly everything can collapse.

While Amara slept, I spent hours dealing with the aftermath.

Securing the palace.

Moving the wounded.

Receiving casualty reports.

Trying to keep terrified members of the court from unraveling and spreading panic through the capital.

And through all of it, one thought kept clawing its way back to the surface.

Amara.

She almost burned out. I almost lost her.

Behind me, she lifts her arms and begins weaving her hair into a braid.

The movement pulls my attention instantly.

The air shifts around her without thought, subtle currents curling against her skin as though the Element itself reaches for her instinctively. Protective. Weightless. Alive.

Not rigid or immovable like earth, but adaptive.

The way she is. She bends instead of breaking.

And somehow . . . she does the same thing to me. Rowena was right. I have changed thanks to my Amara. The crushing pressure in my chest eases when she’s near. The constant weight of command, war, shadow magics, expectation—it all feels lighter around her, easier to carry.

Like breathing clean air after years of smoke.

A zephyr.

Soft enough to miss if you are not paying attention. Strong enough to change the course of a storm.

My little zephyr.

The thought hits me so suddenly I nearly laugh at myself.