Chapter 38 Caelum

• “Tell me, Caelum... When this human awakens, will you have the audacity to take her to the castle?” Seraphina's voice cut through the air like a whip, her tone laced with jealousy and anger—two emotions I had rarely seen in her so explicitly. Her posture was rigid, almost defiant, but I could sense, in the subtle inflections of her voice and the unsteady flicker in her golden eyes, that there was more behind her cold demeanor. “Will you start sharing your bed with her?”
• My gaze fixed on her, and for a moment, all I could see was the flash of insecurity that crossed Seraphina's face—a fleeting moment of vulnerability, quickly stifled by her icy exterior.
• At that moment, I realized something I had never stopped to consider before. Seraphina, despite all her coldness and the conflicts between us, had been trying to fulfill her duties as my mate and queen. She did what she could to maintain appearances, even though our marriage was slowly crumbling, corroded by time, lies, and the choices we had made. I had never allowed myself to think about what it all meant for her—for us.