In the Shadow of the Crown

The golden glow of dawn filtered through the heavy velvet curtains, casting long shadows across the chamber. The air still carried the remnants of the night - heat, whispered oaths, and the weight of something unspoken. Eliza sat on the edge of the bed, her body wrapped in silk, her mind shrouded in an uneasy haze.

Something was wrong.            

Raen stood a few feet away, watching her in that silent, knowing way of his. He was already dressed, his black tunic neatly fastened, his tall frame relaxed yet predatory. There was a sharp, unreadable glint in his gaze, something that made the air between them thick with tension.

Eliza swallowed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He took a slow step forward, his movements fluid, controlled. "Because you're mine, Eliza."

Her breath hitched.

No.

Something about the way he said it sent a shiver through her, not fear, but something dangerously close. She shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts, but the strange weight pressing against her chest only grew stronger.

She needed to leave.

Pushing herself up from the bed, she moved to step past him, but Raen was faster.

In one smooth motion, he caught her wrist, pulling her back against him.

"Let me go," she hissed, twisting against his grip, her body tensed with defiance.

Raen chuckled softly, his fingers tightening ever so slightly. "You always fight so beautifully."

His free hand lifted slowly, reaching toward her face. Instinctively, Eliza turned away, but his fingers brushed against her throat, just below her jaw - right where the invisible collar lay.

And in that instant, everything changed.

A pulse of unseen magic rippled through her, like a current of fire searing beneath her skin. Eliza gasped, her body going rigid as a sudden wave of warmth spread through her veins. It wasn't pain. It was something far worse.

Heat. Need.

Her mind faltered, the sharp edges of her thoughts dulling into something distant, something unimportant.

Raen’s fingers lingered at her throat for a moment longer, as if savoring the way she shuddered beneath his touch.

"That's it," he murmured. "No more running. No more thinking. Just me."

Eliza tried to speak, to protest, but her lips parted with a breathless exhale instead. A slow, creeping warmth coiled in her stomach, twisting through her limbs, sinking into the deepest parts of her.

She felt her resistance fading.

Her knees weakened, her breath shallowed, and a maddening heat curled low in her belly, making her body betray her in ways she couldn’t control.

Raen tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Tell me, Eliza," he whispered, his thumb tracing the curve of her lips. "Do you want this?"

A sharp, desperate voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to fight. But when she opened her mouth, the words that escaped weren’t her own.

“Yes.”

His smirk was slow, victorious.

"Then put these on."

She barely noticed the silver gleam of the shackles in his hands. Logic had unraveled, leaving only raw sensation, an unbearable ache that she couldn’t name.

And so, she obeyed.

The cool metal clicked around her wrists, binding her in place. Raen fastened the second chain to the headboard, securing her completely. She should have felt trapped. She should have wanted to fight.

Instead, all she could think about was him.

"Do you still want this?" he asked again, his voice dark, hypnotic.

"Yes," she whispered.

Always yes.

Because with the collar activated, she couldn’t say anything else.

***

Much later, when her body lay limp against the silk sheets, her breath still uneven, Raen finally pulled away. He stood over her for a long moment, eyes tracing the marks he'd left on her skin, the shackles still locked around her wrists.

Then, silently, he turned and strode toward the door.

Sebastien was waiting just outside, his face as impassive as ever.

Raen exhaled, rolling his shoulders, his satisfaction barely concealed beneath the cool veneer of control.

"It works," he murmured. "But it’s not enough."

Sebastien dipped his head. "What do you require, my lord?"

Raen’s gaze darkened, his jaw tightening.

"I want something stronger. Something absolute. This collar bends her will, makes her crave me, but I want more. I want her love. I want her devotion. I want her to believe that she needs me." His fingers curled into a fist. "I want her to worship me."

Sebastien nodded. "A device that alters emotion itself, not just desire. Something that removes all hatred, all thoughts of rebellion."

Raen smirked. "Exactly."

Sebastien hesitated only a fraction of a second before continuing. "And the punishment for resistance?"

Raen’s eyes gleamed with something almost cruel.

"If she defies me, she will want to obey." His smirk widened. "Let her lips seek mine when she resists. Let her body ache for my touch whenever she dares to think of leaving."

Sebastien inclined his head. "It will be done, my lord. By tomorrow."

Raen exhaled slowly, satisfaction curling through him like smoke.

"Good."

He cast one last glance toward the door of the chamber, where Eliza still lay, bound in silk and iron, her body his, her mind slipping further into his grasp.@@novelbin@@

Tonight had been a test.

Tomorrow, she would be his in every way.