Dorian‘s pov.

The tension in the air was thick, suffocating. My father’s voice, laced with frustration, echoed through the dimly lit chamber.

“Dorian, you’ve lost sight of the bigger picture,” King Maximilian growled, his sharp gaze piercing into me. “That girl is a threat to our kind. She belongs in the dungeons, not in your bed. Have you not noticed how she has changed? She grows stronger, more radiant. Her energy is unnatural.”

I clenched my jaw, fists ...