Chapter 18
SERAPHINA
I can’t breathe.
I’ve been pacing my father’s study for the past hour, ever since I left Kieran standing in that garden. I pulled them away from the ballroom to discuss the situation. They’re devastated to learn that our careful protection of Az has failed.
Mother stands abruptly, moving to the window. “There has to be something we can do. Some way to fight this.”
“Fight a king’s legal claim to his own son?” Father shakes his head. “What grounds would we use?”
“That he rejected Seraphina,” Mother’s voice rises. “That he threw her in a dungeon, marked her, and then severed the bond. That he has no right to claim anything from her after what he did.”
“The Council won’t care about that.” Father moves to his desk, pulling out legal texts. “Mate bonds and custody are separate issues under werewolf law. His treatment of Seraphina, however reprehensible, doesn’t negate his paternal rights.”
“So we just hand over our grandson?” Mother spins to face him. “Let a five-year-old boy be taken by a man he doesn’t know?”
“I didn’t say that.” Father starts flipping through pages. “But we need to understand what we’re up against. Kieran has the law on his side. If we fight him directly, we lose.”
“Then we don’t fight him directly.” I say, my mind racing. “We find another way. A loophole. Something he hasn’t considered.”
“Like what?” Mother asks.
I pace the length of the study, thinking. Kieran wants Azriel. He has legal rights as the father. But what if those rights became… complicated?
“What if I got married?”
Both my parents freeze.
“What?” Father’s voice is sharp.
“What if I married someone else? Before the tournament ends?” The idea takes shape as I speak. “Would Kieran still be able to force Azriel and me to move to Winterhold if I had a husband here?”
Father sets down the book he is holding, his expression shifting from shock to consideration. “It’s… not without precedent. A married woman’s children could be considered part of her husband’s household, especially if the marriage happened before any formal custody claim was filed.”
“You can’t be serious.” Mother’s voice rises. “You would marry a stranger just to—”
“Yes.” I meet her eyes. “At this point, Mother, what choice do I have? Let Kieran take Azriel alone? Or walk back into his kingdom and live under his control?”
“Marriage is forever, Seraphina.” Her voice shakes. “You can’t just—”
“I already have a forever commitment.” I gesture toward where Azriel sleeps. “To my son. Everything else comes second.”
“But to marry someone you don’t love, someone you don’t even know.”
“Love?” The word comes out bitter. “I thought I loved Marcus, and look how that turned out.”
Mother looks at Father, her expression pleading. “Aldric, tell her this is madness.”
But Father is already moving back to his desk, pulling out more texts. “It might work,” he says slowly. “If the marriage happened before Kieran files any formal petition. If the husband formally acknowledged Azriel as his ward. The legal claim becomes muddied.”
“Muddied isn’t good enough,” Mother snaps.
“But it gives us grounds to fight.” Father looks up at me. “It wouldn’t stop Kieran entirely, but it would complicate his claim significantly. Give us time to find a more permanent solution.”
“Time is what we need.” I move to his desk. “The tournament ends in two days. If I married someone tomorrow—”
“You’d need someone willing to take this on.” Father’s voice is grim. “Someone who understands they’d be directly opposing the Ice King.”
“You’d need someone willing to oppose the Ice King,” Father says grimly. “Someone with enough standing that it can’t be dismissed as fraud.”
“Lord Kingston Gravehood,” Mother says suddenly.
I look up. “Who?”
“From the Western territories.” Mother moves to Father’s desk. “He’s been widowed for three years. No children from his first marriage. His estate is substantial, his bloodline impeccable.”
“Would he agree to it?” I ask. “Knowing what it means?”
“He’s been seeking stronger ties with the East,” Father says slowly. “And he has no love for the Northern Kingdom. Their trade disputes have cost him considerably over the years.”
“So he has reason to oppose Kieran.” A flicker of hope sparks in my chest. “This might actually work.”
Father is already writing. “I’ll send the message now.”
“This is moving very fast.” My heart races. “I haven’t even—”
“I know. But it’s the only way to protect him.”
“And if Lord Kingston refuses?”
“Then we find someone else.” Mother’s expression is grim. “But Seraphina, you need to be absolutely certain. Once you’re married, that’s it. Even if we find another solution later, you’ll still be bound to this man.”
I close my eyes, seeing Azriel’s face. His bright smile when he shows me his latest creation. The way he reaches for my hand when he’s frightened. His ice-blue eyes—so like his father’s—looking at me with complete trust.
I can’t let Kieran take him. Can’t let my son grow up in that cold fortress, learning to be the Ice King’s heir, forgetting what it means to be just a child who’s loved.
“I’m certain.” My voice doesn’t shake. “Send the message. Today.”
Father nods and moves toward the door to summon a messenger. He hands him a hastily written note. “To Lord Kingston, Gravehood of the Western territories. Mark it urgent.”
The messenger bows and disappears down the corridor.
Mother stands and pulls me into her arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry it’s come to this.”
I let myself be held, but I don’t cry. Can’t afford to break down now. “How long until we hear back?”
“A few hours if he’s in the palace for the tournament,” Father says. “Longer if he’s already returned to his estate.”
“And if Kieran finds out what we’re planning?”
The silence that follows is answer enough.
