Chapter 29 Caelum

• "Where are you going?" Seraphina's voice echoes through the hall, firm, cutting through the heavy morning air. Her tone is serious, and her gaze—those deep, penetrating golden eyes—is fixed on me as I rise from our breakfast table. The silence that follows her question is almost deafening, and for a moment, I feel disarmed, caught off guard. Seraphina rarely questions my movements, my schedule, or my decisions in recent years, and this sudden curiosity makes me hesitate.
• "I'm going to manage the new business I acquired downtown." My response is calm, calculated, with the usual coldness I've developed over the years. "The finances were a mess," I explain subtly, though deep down, we both know there’s more. The truth, the one that burns like embers beneath the surface of everything I say, is that I want to see her again. Aria.
• The kiss I shared with Aria ignited something inside me, something I thought had long since died. Not just desire, but an ancient flame, a primal urgency that reminded me of who I used to be before the weight of the crown and responsibilities transformed me. The memory of that kiss, still fresh in my mind, makes my heart race briefly, and even the slap she gave me afterward, that gesture full of frustration and anger, burned with an intensity I hadn't felt in years. I would accept another slap if it gave me the chance to kiss her again.