Chapter 18

Aeliana stood near the open archway, her back pressed against the cool stone wall. Her heart raced as she listened to the voices inside the room, muffled but clear enough for her to catch the tone of the conversation. Tharx had been in a private meeting with his inner circle for over an hour, and she had no business eavesdropping. Yet the tension in the air was palpable, drawing her closer, making her desperate to understand what was happening. She had felt the shift-there was no denying it. The hostility directed at her had become more overt in the past few days, and she knew that something was brewing beneath the surface.

Inside, the voices grew sharper, more strained.

"You're letting this human weaken you," a cold, familiar voice cut through the murmur of others. Kadrin. Aeliana recognized his biting tone instantly-the advisor had always been the most openly antagonistic toward her presence. "The court is starting to question your judgment, Tharx. You can't afford to show this kind of weakness."

Aeliana's stomach tightened. She inched closer, pressing her ear to the crack between the door and the frame.

"She's no weakness," Tharx replied, his voice low and measured, though there was an edge of impatience in it. "You assume too much."

"I assume what everyone else sees," Kadrin snapped. "You keep her close, in your personal wing, no less! You've allowed her to witness our sacred traditions, our ceremonies. And for what? To indulge a whim? She's a liability, Tharx. The people are talking-our enemies are watching."

There was a brief silence, and Aeliana could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. She wasn't just a prisoner anymore. She had known that, in some way, her presence was causing tension, but to hear it spelled out so bluntly-she was a liability, a distraction. Her throat tightened, and she fought the sudden urge to run away from the door.

But she stayed. She needed to hear Tharx's response.

"If anyone doubts my judgment," Tharx said, his voice colder now, more controlled, "then perhaps they should question themselves first. The human is none of your concern, Kadrin."

Kadrin let out a frustrated breath. "It's not just me, Tharx. There are others who see it too. You know that. You're slipping-losing your grip. She's already seen too much. She is a fragile human and nothing more. She doesn't belong here."

Aeliana's heart lurched at the words. She had heard them before, felt them in the looks of the guards and advisors who passed her in the halls. But hearing it from Kadrin, spoken with such conviction, made it feel different-made it feel real. She didn't belong. And worse, her presence might be endangering Tharx's position, his hold over his empire.

The tension in the room grew heavy. Then Tharx spoke again, his voice sharper this time. "That will be enough."

Kadrin fell silent, but the atmosphere still crackled with unspoken resentment. Aeliana could imagine the cold looks being exchanged in the room, the way Tharx's other advisors were likely bristling with barely concealed frustration.

Finally, she heard the sound of chairs scraping against the stone floor, followed by the heavy footsteps of the advisors leaving the room. Aeliana barely had time to slip away before they emerged, their expressions hard and unreadable. Kadrin's eyes flicked toward her briefly, his gaze sharp with contempt before he turned away, disappearing down the hallway with the others.

Aeliana let out a shaky breath, her mind reeling from everything she had overheard. Tharx had defended her-dismissed Kadrin's objections-but the unease gnawed at her. She was beginning to realize that her presence wasn't just an inconvenience. It was becoming a threat to Tharx's control over his empire.

Later that day, Aeliana was summoned to attend a formal event with the alien court. It was a stark contrast to the sacred ceremony she had witnessed earlier-a political assembly where high-ranking officials and influential figures gathered to discuss the future of the empire. Tharx hadn't offered much of an explanation for why she was required to attend, but Aeliana could feel the tension in the air the moment she entered the grand hall.

The room was filled with alien dignitaries, all dressed in their intricate ceremonial robes, their faces stern and unwelcoming. Aeliana felt the weight of their stares as she walked alongside Tharx, her human appearance drawing more attention than ever before. There was something different about the way they looked at her today-more direct, more hostile.

As they took their places, the murmurs in the room grew louder. Aeliana caught snippets of conversation-remarks that were clearly meant for her to hear.

"Why is she here?" one voice hissed from behind her.

"She has no place among us," another muttered.

The snide remarks were barely veiled behind false politeness, and it took all of Aeliana's self-control not to react. She clenched her fists at her sides, her gaze fixed ahead as the debate began. The officials spoke of politics, of threats to the empire, of alliances and military strength. But beneath it all, Aeliana could sense the undercurrent of resentment directed at her.

Tharx, as always, maintained his cold, stoic demeanor. He addressed the court with his usual authority, his voice measured and controlled. But even as he spoke, he kept his distance from her, reinforcing the notion that she was nothing more than an outsider-a distraction.

As the discussion dragged on, one of the officials, an older man with sharp features and a cruel smile, made a veiled threat. "Our empire is on the verge of a great conflict," he said, his gaze flicking briefly to Aeliana before returning to Tharx. "It would be unwise to indulge in distractions. The people are watching, my lord. They expect strength, not weakness."

The implication was clear. Aeliana's presence was being seen as a threat to Tharx's rule, a vulnerability that his enemies could exploit. She could feel the eyes of the court on her, the unspoken judgment hanging in the air.

Her chest tightened with a mix of anger and fear. She hadn't asked for any of this. She hadn't asked to be taken from her world, thrown into the center of an empire that resented her existence. And yet, here she was-caught in the middle of something far larger than herself, something that she didn't fully understand.

After the assembly, Aeliana retreated to her quarters, her mind swirling with everything she had witnessed. She felt lost, more isolated than ever. The resentment from the court, the hostility from Tharx's inner circle-it was all building to something, and she didn't know how to stop it.

But as much as she tried to push her emotions aside, she couldn't ignore her growing feelings for Tharx. It didn't make sense. He was cold, distant, and had never given her a reason to believe he cared about her beyond her usefulness. And yet, the more she saw of his world, the more she began to understand the weight he carried.

Tharx wasn't just her captor. He was a ruler, responsible for an entire empire-a crumbling empire that was being pulled in a hundred different directions. She had seen the pressure he faced, the way he navigated the court with a level of calm that bordered on inhuman. His strength, his control, fascinated her.

She hated herself for it.

Aeliana knew she shouldn't care. She shouldn't feel anything for the man who had taken her from her home, who kept her in a fortress like a prisoner. But there was something about him-something about the way he carried the weight of his responsibilities in silence-that drew her in. Despite everything, she couldn't help but want to understand him.

And that terrified her.

Sitting alone in her quarters, Aeliana wrestled with her emotions. Why did she care? Why was she thinking of Tharx less as a tyrant and more as someone she wanted to know, to understand? It was maddening, this inner conflict. She knew she was trapped in a world that would never accept her, surrounded by people who saw her as a threat. But somehow, her feelings for Tharx kept pulling her in, even as he kept her at arm's length.

As the political turmoil mounted, Aeliana was forced to confront a harsh truth: Tharx was in a precarious position. His empire was fracturing, and the people closest to him were questioning his judgment. The resentment toward her was growing, and she knew it was only a matter of time before something broke.

Her fate was tied to his now. And the more she became aware of the political landscape, the more she realized that if Tharx fell, so would she.

But even as the walls closed in around them, Aeliana couldn't shake the feeling that she was beginning to understand him-and that, perhaps, understanding Tharx was the key to surviving in this world.