---
Luna sat in her tent, her fingers brushing over the smooth surface of her dagger, but her mind was elsewhere—back on the battlefield, back in that moment.
The Sun Prince.
His touch.
The way the mark had flared between them, branding him as something bound to her.
She had felt his rage, his disbelief, but beneath it all, there had been something else—something dark and unspoken.
And now, she could feel him.
Not physically, not in any way that made sense, but in the depths of her being, she knew exactly where he was. He wasn't far, and that thought both infuriated and unsettled her.
Ahava sat across from her, watching in silence. She could tell he was waiting for her to speak, to confess whatever was eating away at her. But Luna wasn't ready—not yet.
"I need information," she finally said.
Ahava raised a brow. "On what?"
"On him."
A muscle ticked in Ahava's jaw, but he didn't question her. He understood without needing an explanation. "I'll send scouts."
Luna nodded, gripping the hilt of her dagger a little tighter.
Because she had a sinking feeling that this war was about to become something far more personal than she had ever intended.
---
The Sun Prince's Obsession
The pain hadn't stopped.
The mark still pulsed, a steady reminder of her presence—of the fact that she was his to destroy, yet something inside him resisted that idea.
He paced his chambers, the weight of his frustration pressing against his ribs like iron chains.
She did this to me.
The thought alone was enough to send fire rushing through his veins.
Luna.
A name that once meant nothing now consumed him entirely.
He had never hated anyone the way he hated her. Never wanted to see someone ruined the way he wanted her ruined.
And yet…
When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her.
The way she had looked at him during their battle—defiant, untamed. The way she had touched him, and the world itself had shifted around them.
His hands curled into fists.
This wasn't just war anymore.
This was fate.
And he refused to let fate control him.
If Luna thought she could bind him to her, if she thought she could play her games without consequence—
She was gravely mistaken.
Because the next time they met, he wouldn't just fight her.
He would break her.
And gods help him—
He would enjoy it.
---