Rael froze. He didn’t even need to turn around. He already knew who was standing there.
Heavy boots thudded against the wooden floor as the person walked closer.
"Rael," his father’s voice boomed. "What the hell is going on here?!"
Rael turned slowly, face hard, mouth tight, and the flames on his cleanched fist slowly dying. "She hit me first."
"Don’t lie to me!" his father shouted, storming forward. "You come back injured from a D-rank portal and now you want to start fights in my house too?!"
Rael opened his mouth to say something but the slap landed before he could say a word.
His head jerked sideways from the force. The pain bit deep into his jaw and the sting lingered like fire.
His father’s voice roared behind it. "Is this what I raised you to be? A failure who can’t even keep his temper? You’re a disgrace to this family."
Rael didn’t look at him, didn’t speak, he didn’t even dare react. Because he knew exactly what his father was capable of doing.
He just stood there, breathing hard through his nose, swallowing everything he wanted to scream, after all.... that’s what he always did. He was used to this happening, thanks to this damn woman who always turned his father against him.
The silence that followed was thick. Tense. His stepmother sniffled dramatically in the background.
"Get out of my sight," his father spat.
Without another word, Rael turned and stormed out of the house.
The palm print on his cheek still burned, but it was the last thing on his mind. His blood was boiling. His fists ached from being clenched too long. And if he stayed even a second longer in that cursed house, he was going to do something he’d regret.
He didn’t bother with the usual back route. No signaling cloth. No waiting for the flicker of firelight from her window. He just moved, cutting through alleys, ducking past night patrols, boots crunching over dry leaves as he made his way up the hidden trail that led to her quarters.
Daughter of the Fire realm King. Heir to the Flame Throne. To
And no one, absolutely no one would forgive her if they knew she was secretly seeing him.
She was meant to marry someone of status. Another royal. A realm commander. Maybe even the future Flame General.
But instead... she chose him.
Rael. The hot-headed son of a disgraced captain, No noble blood, nothing to offer. Just scars, temper, and whatever strength he’d earned from years of crawling his way up from nothing.
Her private quarters were just outside the inner palace walls, far enough from the main residence that the guards didn’t hover constantly. She said it was for "peace and independence," but Rael knew better. It was the only place she could breathe. The only place she could see him.
Tonight, he didn’t care if someone spotted him. He needed her more than he needed air.
Rael shoved open the back door and stepped inside.
Alira was there, seated by a brazier, her long crimson robe draped loosely around her shoulders, hair tied up in a messy knot like she’d been winding down for the night. A half-unrolled scroll sat on the table in front of her.
She looked up, startled.
He didn’t give her time to say anything else.
He crossed the room in a flash and grabbed her face, kissing her like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
She gasped against his lips, frozen at first from the suddenness of it. But then her hands found his arms, and her body melted into his, letting him pour every ounce of rage, pain, and hunger into the kiss.
When they finally pulled apart, she was breathing hard.
"Are you crazy?" she whispered, voice sharp but low. "You didn’t signal, you didn’t even knock, do you want to get caught? What if my mom was here."
She looked at him properly now, eyes adjusting, and her face fell.
Her expression softened first. Then suddenly hardened like steel.
She saw it. The red mark on his cheek. The tired, furious look in his eyes.
Her voice dropped to a flat, dangerous tone.
"Who hit you?...Was it her? Or your father?"
Rael exhaled through his nose and looked away. "It’s nothing."
"I asked you a question, Rael."
"She just...whatever. It doesn’t matter."
Alira stepped back from him, eyes flashing as flames awakened in them. "I’ll kill her."
He immediately reached for her arm. "No. Don’t."
"She hit you...again, like you’re some caged mutt. And you’re just going to keep brushing it off?"
Rael pulled her closer again, arms wrapping around her waist.
"No. You don’t get to protect her. She keeps doing this to you and you let it slide every time because you think it’s safer that way."
"It is safer that way."
She was trembling. Not from fear, but fury.
Rael sighed and let his head fall against her shoulder. "I didn’t come here so you could light her on fire."
"Then why did you come here?" she asked, quieter now.
He pulled back slightly, just enough to see her face. "Because if I stayed there another second, I’d have lost it. And I needed to see you."
Her eyes softened again, if only slightly.
Rael leaned back against the wall and let out a long breath. "The raid went sideways today."
"Supposed to be D-rank beasts. Ended up being smarter, stronger, and way more aggressive than they should’ve been."
She frowned. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"I did get hurt, but I’m fine now."
That made her eyes flick toward him fast.
Rael nodded. "Would’ve gotten ripped in half if someone hadn’t saved me in time."
"Well, just a dude born without magic. He’s known pretty well in the whole town for being... unique."
Alira raised a brow. "Born without magic and still a hunter?"
"Yeah I’m surprised too, we started off on bad terms, though that was partly my fault. But now I kinda like him, he’s pretty cool."
"What’s his name?" Arila asked, smiling softly. It was rare to see Rael talking so happily about someone. She genuinely wanted to know more about this person who supposedly saved her beloved.