Chapter 30

Erhan

“Fiancée?” Erhan uttered, hardly believing what he was hearing. “What fiancée?”

He gazed into Kleena’s eyes, trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke, but the pain in her expression was all too real, as were the tears that were still rolling silently down her cheeks.

Erhan’s chest felt as if it might burst. He’d finally told Kleena what she truly meant to him, finally told her the truth about his past, and then, miraculously, discovered the woman he loved was pregnant with his child. He had never felt such elation or happiness.

But it had all come crashing down so suddenly, and Erhan had no idea why.

“Kleena, what are you talking about?” His voice was gentle but searching, and for a second, he saw a flicker of doubt in Kleena’s otherwise resolute gaze.

For a moment, Kleena remained silent, her jaw locked, and Erhan glanced back to the queen for guidance. She met him with a frown, concern obvious on her face. Out of the corner of his eye, Erhan saw the doctor slip discreetly out of the room.

All hints of celebration had dissipated now, and when Erhan looked back, he found Kleena’s expression was still set, her dark eyebrows furrowed, her mouth a thin straight line, and her eyes holding back a flood of unspoken pain and anger.

“Please,” he ventured again, leaning forward ever so slightly. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

For a moment, he wasn’t sure if Kleena would speak, but finally, she let out a small strangled sound and opened her mouth.

“Janaya,” she said the word like it was poison, but it meant nothing to Erhan and he shook his head softly.

Kleena either didn’t see the gesture or didn’t believe it because when she spoke again, her tone was accusatory.

“When were you going to tell me about her?”

Erhan shook his head again, at a loss for words. “I’m sorry, Kleena, but I really don’t know…”

His words trailed off as he struggled to understand what was happening. At this, Kleena appeared frustrated, sitting up in bed and staring at him, then at the queen, then back at him with a look of indignance.

“She told me everything, Erhan,” she said. “That she’s been betrothed to you since before you and I even met. That her parents are in talks with the imperial family. That I’m nothing but a… a breeder .”

All of this was news to Erhan, and that last part, especially, pained him. He shook his head emphatically.

“Kleena, no. How could you think that?”

“Fine, a concubine then,” she interjected, crossing her arms and looking away. “Whatever you want to call it, I don’t want it.”

Erhan was finally starting to piece together what Kleena was implying, and the thought horrified him.

“I promise you, I am not betrothed to anyone,” he insisted, leaning forward to try and enter Kleena’s line of sight. “I’ve never met anyone called Janaya, and you are definitely not a breeder, or a concubine, or anything like that. Please believe me.”

At this, Kleena turned her head slightly, but it wasn’t to look at Erhan. It was to look at the queen.

Queen Azha stepped forward then, placing her long, slender fingers upon the end of Kleena’s bed.

“He’s telling the truth,” she assured, her voice warm and gentle. “There’s no betrothal. Who is this Janaya, and what exactly did she say?”

At her words, Kleena’s face softened slightly and Erhan felt a glimmer of hope shining through the darkness. He knew he’d done nothing wrong but his tether to Kleena felt so delicate, so fragile, that he held his breath as she spoke. It was as if he feared any sudden move would scare her away forever.

“She came to see me in your chambers,” Kleena admitted, the tears drying on her cheeks now. “She told me about the fertility crisis and said the only way for Niris to breed was with human women. That’s why I—and the other human women—were brought here.”

She glanced briefly at Erhan, and he could see the deep pain in her eyes as she said the words. All of him wanted to interject, and he almost did, but a soft gesture from the queen told him to wait. He knew she was right, but the thought of Kleena believing that lie for another second broke his heart.

“She said she was engaged to you,” Kleena continued, addressing him directly now. “And that it would be best for me to leave before I was discarded.”

On this last word, her voice broke a little, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Instinctively, Erhan reached forward to brush it away, but Kleena flinched at his touch. It cut him right to his core.

Queen Azha spoke quickly, cutting through the awkward moment with grace. “And she said her parents were in talks with our family over this so-called betrothal?”

Kleena turned back to her and nodded. The queen hummed thoughtfully at this before speaking again.

“That settles the mystery then,” she explained with a look that exuded both authority and reassurance. “There is no such engagement. From time to time, we receive letters from nobles and merchants, offering their sons and daughters as potential spouses for members of the royal family. We never take any of them seriously, of course, especially not for grown Niri like Prince Erhan.”

She tutted and shot Erhan a look of respect. “It sounds as if some family got ahead of themselves, filling their daughter’s mind with promises they were in no position to make. If she was in the palace grounds, she’s probably employed here, giving her the illusion of proximity to the prince. I almost feel sorry for her.”

Erhan watched intently as Kleena’s cheeks regained a little of the color they’d lost during their earlier exchange, and when he reached out to take her hand, she didn’t pull away this time.

“Now,” continued the queen, delicately. “I’ll leave you two to talk this over. For your sake and the sake of the babe.”

She shot them one last meaningful glance before gliding out of the room.

“What the queen says is true, Kleena,” he insisted once she’d left, finally catching Kleena’s eye. In her gaze, he saw confusion but also something he hadn’t seen before. Hope.

“I meant it when I told you I love you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, and the only woman I ever want.”

“What about the breeding…” Kleena ventured, her voice wavering slightly.

Erhan shook his head. “That’s not what you’re here for,” he told her, squeezing her hand. “You, nor the other human females. Though, I have to admit I’m both terrified and thrilled at the thought of you having my nirling. And the part about the fertility crisis is true. But, Kleena, you’re here because I love you and because, from what I can tell, you feel the same way. Don’t you?”

Erhan held his breath again as he waited for the reply he hoped would come. Finally, Kleena let out a sigh as if the last of her walls were coming down.

“Yes,” she admitted, tears forming again. “I do. I love you.”

It was as if he was breathing fresh air again after being on the brink of drowning. Kleena’s words and the look on her face told him the turmoil was over. That she loved him. She loved him. She loved him.

Pulling her close, Erhan let his tail snake up the bed and wrap gently around one of Kleena’s calves. It was as if he couldn’t possibly get close enough.

“I love you so much, Kleena,” he told her. “I never thought I’d find love. I never thought I’d have a family. Nor that I deserved either of those things. I’m terrified of hurting you, or of losing you, the same way I did my mother. But for the first time in my life, I’m willing to work against those fears.”

Kleena nodded gently as Erhan spoke, but when he finally uttered the question that had been in his heart for some time, Kleena was struck still.

“Will you be my mate?”

Kleena’s eyes widened, and as he waited for the answer, Erhan’s heart thundered. He had never wanted someone so much, nor had he ever opened himself like this to another. But he knew, more than anything, he wanted to be with her.

Finally, a broad smile spread over Kleena’s face as she nodded.

“Yes,” she whispered, the words coming out as a laugh of incredulity. “Yes, I’ll be your mate.”

Every fiber in Erhan’s body celebrated as he pulled Kleena close, pressing his lips against hers. He knew he had finally found love, and it was as terrifying as it was glorious.

He never wanted anything else.