The decision to camp as the suns rose was unspoken, but unanimous regardless.

"There's another night of travel before reaching the palace," Treyan informed no one in particular as he led them off the main road towards the palace. They found a sheltered alcove in a patch of overgrown forest. There were many like it all over the Empire, where villages would crop up around the small patches of woods but left them isolated for hunting and gathering purposes.

Sarayna set up her bedroll with Treyan's help, leaving Alex to fend for herself. She didn't mind and was pleased to be alone.

Their argument had racked her brain and her heart, and she didn't know how to feel anymore. She found herself meaning every word she had said. Treyan was giving up, just as he had before when Reylor kidnapped her and brought her to the Borderlands. His honor meant more than all else, and she wasn't going to allow that to influence her decisions any longer.

That started to concern her the most.

With her bedroll a purposeful distance away, Treyan would take the first watch. Alex didn't object or say anything to him, but instead lay by herself with her back to her family while she contemplated her next steps.

It wasn't that she was questioning her feelings towards Treyan, but she was worried about his towards her. Duty can only take one so far—the heart needs to work on its own after that. Alex wondered if there was truly love there anymore, or if it was only a strong sense of duty that she mistook for love. And now that he was questioning everything he once stood for...

She had never considered him a coward. She knew in her heart he was far from that. But deep down, she was still bitter towards him for not saving her—rescuing her—when she was taken by Reylor.

Instead, it was Reylor who had let her go, and it wasn't until his scouts found her on a ranging mission that Treyan had any idea she was still alive. Had Treyan truly given up? Just shrugged his shoulders and thought—oh well, there goes another Empress? Surely not, her brain told her, but there was still a part of her that felt otherwise. Coming back here only resurfaced those memories tenfold.

She didn't remember falling asleep, but the sudden, unexpected weight upon her and the hand around her mouth late in the night brought her eyes open in a panic.

She expected to see red eyes burning as deep as the fire's embers.

Instead, Treyan's were looking right back at her.

The suns had set, and he would have looked beautiful in the glow of the camp's fire if his face wasn't twisted in rage.

He was lying on top of her, pinning her down, his legs wrapped around hers. It would have been extremely intimate except for the fury in his eyes and the anger in his voice. Alex was afraid.

"You will listen to me, and you will listen to me well, do you understand me?" he snarled through clenched teeth.

Alex searched for a glimpse of Sarayna—she was still sleeping, thankfully, a healthy distance away. She didn't know if she was hoping she would wake up to break up their confrontation or if she was afraid something would come of her.

Treyan forcefully shifted his hand on her mouth. "She's fine. Pay attention to me now."

Alex did as she was told, remaining still and unable to do much more besides listen.

"Good. Now you listen here," he continued through clenched teeth, either to keep his voice low or to maintain his temper. "Everything I have ever done has been for the greater good. Yes, that includes what is best for the Empire, but it also includes what is best for you. How dare you ever insinuate that I have been anything less than honorable in my affections towards you."

Alex tried to reply but his hand clasped tighter.

"That includes every part of you. Sarayna. Lexan. They are yours, and they are mine. Your pain, your suffering, your passion, your sadness. All of it is mine because I love you."

"Whether you came to me in a dream, through a Prophecy, or walking down a road within the Empire, it matters not. You are mine—mine alone—and you will be until the day we perish. And no one—not you, not the Councillor, not Reylor—is ever going to change that or take it away from me."

He shifted himself slightly, and Alex could tell his position on top of her was beginning to have an alternative effect from his initial intentions.

"I love you, Alexstrayna. I have always loved you. I will always love you. Only you."

He moved his hand away to bring his lips to hers. His kiss was violent and passionate, and despite everything else that transpired she returned it with equal ferocity. She held him tight as fury and longing melded into one.

His hands were just as rough, grasping at her shirt one moment, and beginning to undo her pants in another. But she would be damned if Treyan thought he was going to get his way that easily.

In a rustle of blankets Alex hoisted herself up and rolled over on top of him, flipping their positions. He was blatantly surprised, but more so as she brought her left forearm underneath his chin in a slight choke hold.

"Now it's my turn to have your attention, my Prince," she informed him while her free hand began releasing him from his pants.

"I, like you, want what's best for this Empire, and my family, but unlike you, I was not given a choice. You came to me, you took me away, and you forced me into a life I never knew I wanted. From my position, you are no better than your brother."

"Alex," Treyan began to protest, but her arm clenched tighter, keeping him quiet.

"Shh," she instructed as she moved his pants out of the way. "Now, the difference between you and your brother is common sense. You knew how to treat a lady, where he thought he needed to force her to get what he wanted. In the end, you won, and he lost."

She maneuvered herself upon him and she heard Treyan's breath catch in his throat.

"If you ever insinuate that I would ever willingly choose him over you, you may as well kill us both right here, right now."

"Yes, Empress," he whispered.

"It would also do you well to remember, my Prince," she continued breathily as she worked her hips, "that I am no one's whore."

She brought his face up to hers and locked her lips with his. No longer restrained, he immediately sat up, bringing his arms around her and guiding her upon him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her nails digging lines across his back, her moans drowned out by his kisses.