They came for us at midnight.
I was lying awake in the too-large bed, Dorian's arm thrown across my waist, his breathing slow and steady. The bond hummed between us—warm, peaceful, content.
Then everything changed.
His eyes snapped open. "Lyra—"
"I know."
We were both moving before the first window shattered.
Shadows exploded from Dorian's hands, dousing the room in darkness. My Ember flared, not to fight but to see—golden light cutting through the black.
Four figures. Grey cloaks. Masks of polished bone.
Purists.
"The bonded ones," one hissed. "The abomination must die."
"You first," Dorian said.
Then we were fighting.
They were good. Better than the Eclipsed we'd faced before. Trained. Coordinated. They moved like a single creature with four bodies, attacking in perfect sync.
Two came for me. Two for Dorian.
I met the first with a blast of Ember that sent him crashing into the wall. The second dodged my follow-up, his twilight blade slashing toward my throat—
Dorian's shadow caught his arm. Held it. Snapped it.
The assassin screamed.
"Thanks," I said.
"Don't mention it."
The first assassin was already rising. I didn't give him a chance. Fire wrapped around him, lifted him, slammed him into the ceiling. He fell and didn't move.
Two down.
The remaining assassins looked at each other. Then at us.
"This isn't over," one spat.
"It is for you."
Dorian's shadows crushed them both.
The room was destroyed. Windows shattered. Walls scorched. Bed in pieces.
I stood in the middle of it, breathing hard, my Ember still crackling around my hands.
"Four," I said. "In the palace. In your father's house."
"They're getting bolder."
"Or someone let them in."
Dorian went still. "You think my father—"
"I think someone with authority wanted us dead." I looked at him. "Question is, who?"
Through the bond, I felt his turmoil. His father had just started to accept him. Had just started to see him. If Casian was behind this—
"We need to investigate," I said. "Carefully. Quietly."
"Lysandra can help. She knows the palace. Knows the players."
"Then we talk to Lysandra. First light."
He nodded. Then he looked around at the destroyed room.
"Where are we supposed to sleep?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm not sleeping." I sat on the least-broken part of the floor. "Too much adrenaline."
He sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. "We could talk."
"About what?"
"Anything. Everything." He leaned his head against mine. "Tell me something I don't know about you."
I thought about it. "I'm afraid of the dark."
He blinked. "You're an Ember-Knight."
"I know. It's ironic. But when I was a kid—after my mom 'died'—I used to wake up in the middle of the night convinced the shadows were going to swallow me. Kael would sit with me until I fell back asleep." I swallowed. "After he died, I stopped sleeping in the dark. I always keep a light on."
"Even in Solaris? Where it's always day?"
"Even then."
Dorian was quiet for a moment. Then he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer.
"You're safe now," he said. "With me. Shadows aren't going to hurt you."
"Your shadows?"
"All shadows. I'll protect you." He kissed my temple. "That's what bonded do."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him I didn't need protection, that I could take care of myself, that I'd been doing it for years.
Instead, I closed my eyes and let myself believe him.
Just for tonight.
Dawn came slowly.
We spent the night talking—about our childhoods, our fears, our hopes. He told me about his mother, about the guilt he carried, about the way his father's words still echoed in his head. I told him about Kael, about the day he died, about the years I spent pretending I didn't feel anything.
By the time the sun rose, I knew him better than I'd ever known anyone.
And I loved him more than I'd ever thought possible.
"We should find Lysandra," he said.
"In a minute."
"We don't have a minute."
"Then give me thirty seconds."
I kissed him. He kissed me back.
When we finally pulled apart, he was smiling.
"Thirty seconds," he said. "You're getting generous."
"Don't get used to it."
"Too late. I'm already used to everything about you."
I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling too.
Together, we walked out of the ruined room.
Together, we would find the truth.