The banquet finally ended sometime after midnight.

Music faded first.

Then diplomats.

Then the endless flood of advisors and military commanders trying to steal five more minutes of political discussion before sunrise.

Eventually even Blackwood Castle grew quiet again beneath the winter snow.

Eva stepped onto the upper balcony alone with a crystal glass still resting loosely in one hand while cold moonlight spilled silver across the dark velvet draped around her body.

The forest stretched endlessly below.

Black pines.

Snow-covered cliffs.

Ancient territory sleeping peacefully beneath winter clouds.

Beautiful view.

Stillness settled around her slowly.

No war horns.

No blood.

No screaming bond panic clawing through her chest.

Just cold air against pale skin and the distant sound of snow sliding softly from castle rooftops.

The balcony doors opened behind her.

She didn’t turn around.

Killian crossed the stone balcony quietly carrying his heavy black wool coat over one arm while loose snowflakes melted slowly in his hair from the courtyard below.

“You disappeared.”

Eva stared out toward the forest.

“The court became loud.”

“That’s because you smiled at me in public.”

She finally glanced sideways toward him.

“One time.”

“The kingdom’s still recovering emotionally.”

That earned the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth.

Dangerous thing.

Killian noticed immediately.

Always.

The cold wind shifted harder across the balcony, lifting strands of dark hair across Eva’s face while frost gathered lightly along the stone railing beneath her hands.

Killian frowned slightly.

“You’re freezing.”

“I’m a vampire.”

“You’re still freezing.”

Without waiting for argument, he stepped behind her and draped the heavy wool coat carefully across her shoulders.

The warmth hit immediately.

Not just the coat.

Him.

The scent woven into the fabric wrapped around her almost instantly—cedarwood, snow, leather, smoke, wolf.

Home.

Interesting.

Killian adjusted the coat gently around her shoulders while standing close enough that his chest brushed lightly against her back through the velvet fabric.

The bond pulsed warm beneath both their ribs.

Always stronger at night.

Eva rested one hand lightly against the sleeve wrapped around her.

“You still do that.”

Killian looked down slightly.

“Do what.”

“Act like I’ll break from cold.”

His mouth softened faintly.

“Maybe I remember someone almost freezing to death in the snow.”

The memory settled between them quietly.

Winter festival.

Sixteen years old.

Blood on white ground.

A starving girl kneeling outside Blackwood’s celebration hall while nobles laughed behind warm windows.

Killian’s coat around her shoulders.

The first time anyone touched her gently.

Eva stared silently out toward the moonlit forest.

“You barely spoke to me that night.”

Killian leaned his forearms lightly against the balcony railing beside her.

“I was trying not to.”

Interesting answer.

Eva turned toward him slightly.

“Why.”

Killian laughed softly beneath his breath.

“Because the second you grabbed my coat, my wolf almost lost its mind.”

That pulled her attention fully toward him now.

Killian looked out over the snowy forest while speaking quietly.

“I didn’t understand it then.”

His breath curled pale silver into the cold night air.

“But every instinct I had kept saying the same thing.”

Eva waited.

Killian glanced toward her finally.

“Take her with you.”

The bond tightened warmly.

Dangerous.

Eva looked away first.

Coward again.

Killian smiled faintly.

“You still do that.”

“Do what.”

“Pretend you’re unaffected every time I say something honest.”

“I am unaffected.”

“Liar.”

The word settled softly between them.

Comfortable now.

Eva sipped slowly from her glass while snow drifted around the balcony in slow silver spirals beneath moonlight.

Killian watched her quietly another moment before speaking again.

“I found the cliff.”

Her hand paused slightly.

Interesting.

Killian looked toward the distant forest line.

“Last week.”

The winter wind softened around them.

“I went back alone.”

Eva studied him silently now.

No jokes this time.

No teasing.

Just honesty.

Killian’s jaw tightened faintly.

“There’s still blood on the rocks.”

The memory hit the bond sharply enough that she felt it instantly.

Rain.

Lightning.

Her body disappearing backward into darkness while he screamed himself hoarse at the edge of the cliff.

The worst night of his life.

Killian exhaled slowly through the cold air.

“I’m building something there.”

Eva blinked once.

“What.”

“A monument.”

The answer came simple.

Certain.

Killian kept his eyes on the forest while speaking quietly.

“For your parents.”

Silence.

Real silence this time.

The kind that settled directly into bone.

Eva stared at him for several seconds without speaking.

Because nobody ever talked about her parents anymore.

Not openly.

Too much history attached to their names.

Too much guilt buried beneath old Blackwood politics.

Killian’s voice lowered further.

“They died because people were afraid of what your bloodline represented.”

The wind shifted softly through the balcony arches.

“I can’t change that.”

His gaze finally lifted toward her.

“But I can make sure nobody forgets who they really were.”

Something painful moved briefly through Eva’s chest beneath the bond.

Not weakness.

Grief.

Old enough to feel fossilized until now.

Killian saw the change in her eyes immediately.

Dangerous territory.

Still—

He stepped closer anyway.

“Eva.”

She looked down toward the snowy courtyard below.

“My mother liked winter.”

Killian stayed silent.

“She said snow made the world look honest.”

A sad smile almost touched her mouth.

“She was wrong, obviously.”

“No,” Killian murmured softly. “I think she just hadn’t met politicians yet.”

That actually pulled a quiet laugh from her.

God.

That sound still ruined him.

The bond warmed heavily again beneath his ribs.

Killian reached carefully for her hands.

Cold fingers.

Always cold.

He wrapped both her hands slowly between his larger ones, rubbing warmth gently back into pale skin while snow drifted softly around the balcony.

Eva watched him silently.

The former Alpha king standing in winter moonlight warming her hands like it was the most important responsibility in the world.

Ridiculous wolf.

Her wolf.

Killian looked down at their hands quietly.

Then suddenly tugged her closer.

Fast enough to surprise her slightly.

Eva stumbled lightly against his chest beneath the heavy wool coat wrapped around both of them now while his arms settled securely around her waist.

Warm.

Solid.

The cold wind disappeared almost instantly.

Killian lowered his head slightly beside hers.

“Better.”

Eva rested one hand lightly against his chest.

Strong heartbeat beneath wool and scar tissue.

Alive.

Always alive.

The moon hung pale silver above the forest while snow continued drifting softly through the night around Blackwood Castle.

No war.

No politics.

No kingdoms demanding pieces of them.

Just this balcony.

This winter.

This impossible peace they somehow carved out of violence together.

Killian rested his chin lightly against the top of her head.

His wolf had gone completely still again.

Peaceful.

Content.

The feeling still shocked him sometimes.

Eva leaned into his warmth slowly.

Carefully.

Then finally let herself stay there.

Her head settled against his shoulder while they both stared silently out across the moonlit forest below.

The same forest that once watched them destroy each other.

Now watching them survive.

Together.