In the Shadow of the Crown

A hush fell over the ballroom, thick with anticipation. The court had sensed the storm brewing long before Raen spoke, but now, the storm had a name.

Raen.              

He stood at the edge of the dance floor, a pillar of restrained violence, his golden eyes fixed on Eliza with an intensity that made her breath catch. There was no fury in his expression, no outward sign of rage but that was what made it all the more terrifying.

Raen did not act in anger.

He acted in certainty.

And tonight, he was certain of one thing.

Eliza belonged to him.

Elric, ever the provocateur, merely smirked, his grip on Eliza’s waist not loosening in the slightest. His arrogance was deliberate, each second he held her a calculated insult. “You seem tense, Your Grace,” he mused, voice silken with amusement. “A drink, perhaps? It might help soothe that temper of yours.”

Raen did not so much as blink. “Release her.”

A simple command. Soft. Deceptively calm.

[A warning.]

Eliza felt the shift in Elric’s posture, his amusement sharpening into something more dangerous. He was playing with fire, and he knew it.

But so did Raen.

And Raen had never been one to lose.

Eliza exhaled, trying to steady herself. Her mind raced, knowing that if this continued, it would not end with mere words. Not with these men.

“Elric,” she murmured, barely tilting her head toward him, a silent plea to end this before it spiraled further.

But Elric was far too entertained. His fingers traced the curve of her spine, slow, deliberate. Possessive.

His next words were meant to set the ballroom ablaze.

“I don’t believe I will.”

The court gasped.

Eliza barely had time to react before Raen moved.

There was no warning, no sound only a flash of motion as Raen closed the distance.

Elric shifted, prepared for the blow, but it never came.

Raen was faster.

Instead of striking, he ripped Eliza from Elric’s grasp, his hand seizing her wrist in a grip that was unyielding but not cruel.

Eliza’s world tilted, the force of Raen’s pull spinning her into his chest, the scent of steel and something darker enveloping her.

For a moment, neither of them breathed.

Then, his fingers splayed against the small of her back, holding her there. Anchoring her.

His voice, low enough that only she could hear, sent a shiver through her.

“Do not test me, Eliza.”

She swallowed, pulse hammering. “Raen…”

Elric laughed, the sound rich with amusement, but there was steel beneath it. “How possessive,” he mused. “Tell me, Your Grace, is this how you claim what is yours? Like a beast in the wild?”

Raen finally turned his gaze toward Elric, and for the first time that night, Eliza saw it.

The breaking point.

The cold, simmering control that had kept him civilized...cracking.

“Elric,” Raen said softly, “if you touch her again, I will take your hand.”

Elric’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second. “You wouldn’t.”

Raen smiled.

It was not a kind smile.

“I would.”

The tension in the room thickened, suffocating, the weight of unspoken violence pressing down on the court. No one dared move.@@novelbin@@

A single wrong word, a misplaced breath, and this night would end in blood.

Eliza’s pulse pounded against her ribs. She had to stop this.

She turned, placing a hand against Raen’s chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath the layers of fabric and armor.

His gaze snapped back to her, and for the first time since this wretched dance began, something in his eyes shifted.

Raw. Unfiltered.

Not rage.

Desperation.

“Eliza,” he murmured, barely audible.

Her breath hitched.

The court was watching. Waiting.

But at that moment, she didn’t care.

Because this man this terrifying, ruthless man was unraveling before her eyes.

And she was the reason.

Eliza exhaled, pressing closer, her fingers curling into the fabric of his coat.

A silent surrender.

Raen’s grip on her softened.

And Elric?

He only laughed, stepping back, but the amusement in his gaze had cooled.

“A dangerous man, indeed,” he murmured, adjusting his cuffs. “Enjoy your prize, Your Grace.”

And with that, he disappeared into the crowd.

But Raen was no longer paying attention to him.

His world had narrowed to her.

“Eliza,” he said again, her name a prayer. A warning. A claim.

She closed her eyes, knowing that after tonight…

She would never escape him.