Chapter 82

The change was gradual, subtle at first, like shadows creeping in as the sun set. Aeliana didn't notice immediately-not until she did. And by then, it was too late to ignore.

It started with the small things.

A hand on her lower back when they walked together, a firm yet casual gesture meant to guide her away from crowded areas of the palace.

Extra guards stationed outside her chambers at all hours.

A reassignment of palace attendants, replacing those she had grown comfortable with for warriors who reported directly to Tharx.

Aeliana had expected some changes. She was carrying the heir, after all. She knew Tharx would be protective-but this?

This was something else entirely.

Her freedom was being cut away in slivers, each day bringing another restriction, another rule, another reason why she should stay inside, why she should not exert herself, why she should let others handle things.

The walks she took through the palace gardens? No longer permitted.

The late-night conversations with officials? Canceled.

The quiet visits to the city, where she spoke to the commoners, listened to them, understood them in a way the nobles never could?

Gone.

She had gone from queen to prisoner in her own palace.

At first, she pushed back.

Tharx was patient but firm. His responses always the same.

"It is not safe."

"The court is watching."

"Your safety is not up for debate."

Aeliana clenched her fists, biting her tongue as the frustration built.

She had never been delicate. She had never needed protection.

And yet, Tharx acted as if she would shatter under the slightest pressure.

The final straw came when she was barred from attending a diplomatic meeting.

Aeliana stormed into their chambers, her pulse thrumming with fury.

"You cannot keep me locked away like some fragile relic," she snapped.

Tharx barely looked up from where he stood by the balcony, his gaze on the city below. "You are not a relic," he said evenly. "You are carrying my heir."

Aeliana threw up her hands. "And that means I should sit here and do nothing? I am still the queen of this empire, Tharx. I still have a duty to rule!"

He turned to face her then, golden eyes dark and unreadable. "Your duty is to survive."

The words landed like a slap.

Aeliana staggered back, anger twisting into something deeper, something more painful.

"You think I can't handle myself?" she asked, voice quieter now, but no less sharp.

Tharx's jaw tightened. "I think the world is dangerous, and I will not risk losing you."

Aeliana laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "I spent my life tending to fields, pulling stubborn oxen, hauling sacks of grain. I am not delicate, Tharx. I am not some glass figurine that will crack under pressure!"

Tharx didn't respond immediately. He just watched her.

Really watched her.

And for the first time, Aeliana saw something new in his eyes.

Not just possessiveness. Not just frustration.

Fear.

It was so fleeting, so subtle, she almost missed it.

But it was there.

A sharp breath left him, his shoulders rising and falling, his composure slipping for just a fraction of a second.

"I know you are not fragile," he said, his voice lower now, rougher. "I know you are stronger than anyone gives you credit for."

"Then why-"

"Because I have spent my life making sure I have nothing to lose."

Aeliana's breath hitched.

Tharx took a step closer.

"And now," he continued, voice just above a whisper, "I have everything to lose."

The room felt too small all of a sudden.

The space between them too charged.

Aeliana swallowed hard. "Tharx-"

"I will not apologize for protecting you," he interrupted, his fingers brushing her cheek, softer than she had ever felt from him.

The fury inside her was still there, still burning.

But it was no longer just about being caged.

It was about what she meant to him.

What they meant to each other.

Her throat felt tight. "I cannot rule from a cage."

Tharx exhaled sharply, stepping back as if forcing himself to put distance between them. His hands curled into fists at his sides.

A tense silence stretched between them.

And then, finally-

"Fine," he said.

Aeliana blinked.

"What?"

"I will not cage you," Tharx said, running a hand through his dark hair, as if the decision physically pained him. "But you will have limits."

Aeliana frowned. "What kind of limits?"

"You will not go into the city without protection. You will not attend meetings without a guard present. You will-"

"Tharx."

He stopped.

She stepped closer, slow, careful.

"You cannot rule by controlling everything," she said softly.

His golden eyes flickered. "And you cannot expect me to do nothing while there are people who want you dead."

Aeliana sighed, reaching up to press a hand against his chest. "I know."

Tharx tensed under her touch.

She had always known that his love was not soft. It was fierce, consuming, unrelenting.

But this-this was different.

This was the kind of love that terrified him.

She could feel it in the way his pulse quickened beneath her fingers.

She had never seen him afraid.

But this?

This was fear.

Not of war, not of rebellion.

Of losing her.

Aeliana swallowed hard. "I need to be more than just your queen."

Tharx's brow furrowed. "You are."

"I need to be more than just the mother of your child."

Tharx's lips pressed into a thin line.

Aeliana's voice softened. "I need to be me."

A long silence stretched between them.

Then, finally-

Tharx sighed. "I will listen," he murmured, as if the words were difficult to say.

Aeliana exhaled, relief mixing with something softer.

"That is all I ask."

The conversation did not end there.

Over the next few days, things changed.

Tharx did not loosen his grip entirely-he was still himself, still protective, still watchful.

But he listened.

When she told him she needed to move, to be useful, to help rule in her own way, he let her.

When she sat with officials, discussing trade agreements and economic policies, he did not interfere.

He watched.

He observed.

And slowly, he began to understand.

Aeliana's strength was not in battle.

It was in the way she endured. The way she listened. The way she made people believe in something greater.

One evening, as she sat in the grand hall, going over records with the kingdom's advisors, Tharx stood by the doorway, silent.

She didn't notice him at first.

But then-his gaze met hers across the room.

And there was something different in his eyes.

Not just possessiveness. Not just concern.

Respect.

Aeliana held his gaze.

And for the first time since the news of the pregnancy, she felt like she was not just being protected.

She was being trusted.

That night, when they lay in bed, Tharx reached for her, pulling her against him with an ease that had become second nature.

His lips brushed her temple, a silent acknowledgment. A silent surrender.

Aeliana smiled into the darkness.

She would never be a warrior.

She would never rule through fear or force.

But she would rule.

And Tharx-**for all his power, for all his dominance-**was finally beginning to understand that.