Theron’s POV

The mating ceremony was supposed to fix everything. I thought binding myself to Lyria would silence the doubts, the restless pull in my chest, the gnawing unease that had haunted me since the rejection. But it didn’t. If anything, the weight of my choice presses harder now, as if a stone lodged in my gut. Rejecting Lycina was supposed to be the right move, clean and final. But it’s not. Nothing feels final.

Lyria is standing beside me as she clings to my arm as we stand in ...