The night had fallen like a shadow draped across Vaelor's lands, stretching across forests, mountains, and rivers. Ruria had been training for hours, her body aching but her mind alert. Vaelor was silent, a shadow of white and red by her side, his presence pressing against her like a living weight.
"Rest," he murmured, though his crimson eyes were still scanning the horizon. "Tonight, danger comes. Watch carefully."
Ruria nodded, her pulse quickening. She had survived illusions, beasts, and demons. She had endured trials of loyalty, power, and desire. Yet she had a strange sense that tonight would be different.
The attack came silently, swift as a predator. Shadows moved through the outer courtyard of the castle, faster than human eyes could follow. Ruria and Vaelor descended together. The first attackers were swiftly torn apart, their screams echoing in the stone halls, but then she saw her: a woman, moving with the lethal precision of a master assassin. Her eyes glinted in the torchlight, cold and calculating, a dagger flashing in her hands.
Vaelor's crimson gaze locked onto the assassin instantly. He moved like a storm unleashed, and the woman was caught in his magical force. The air shimmered with power, and for a moment, it seemed she would be destroyed.
Ruria's breath caught. "No!" she cried, rushing forward. "Wait!"
Vaelor paused, looking at her, crimson eyes narrowing. "She is an assassin," he said quietly. "She has been sent to kill me. Why intervene?"
"Because," Ruria said, her voice firm despite the fear lacing it, "she… she is human. She doesn't deserve to die without a choice. Not like this."
Vaelor's gaze softened for the briefest moment, but the edge of authority remained. "Do you wish to save her, Ruria?"
"Yes," Ruria whispered.
The assassin lunged, but Ruria placed herself between Vaelor and the blade. Magic flared from the rings on her fingers, shielding them both. Vaelor's hand rested on hers, controlling the energy, and together they disarmed the assassin.
When the woman fell to her knees, Ruria's eyes met hers. "Why? Why were you sent?" she asked, her voice gentle.
The assassin's expression was guarded, but her voice trembled. "I… I was sent by those who want to overthrow him. To destroy him. To end the Emperor of the Dead Country."
Ruria felt a pang of pity, mingled with curiosity. "You could have killed him," she said softly. "But now… what happens to you?"
Vaelor stepped closer, the air around him heavy with command. "She attempted to kill me," he said, voice low and dangerous. "Her life is mine to take. Should I?"
Ruria placed a hand on his chest. "No," she said firmly. "She will serve you… but by choice, not by death. She… she can be bound, yes, but not killed. She can learn, and she can serve. That is enough."
Vaelor's crimson eyes studied her, an almost imperceptible curve to his lips. "You are wise, Ruria," he said softly. "And reckless."
Ruria ignored the comment, focusing on the assassin. With a few precise words, she invoked a binding spell, one that linked the assassin to Vaelor's power without taking her life. The woman shivered as the magic wrapped around her, feeling both submission and protection.
"You are mine now," Vaelor said, his tone icy yet controlled. "You will obey, you will serve, and you will endure. Any attempt to betray me will be met with consequences you cannot imagine."
The assassin's eyes widened, but she nodded. "Yes… my lord."
Ruria watched her carefully. "You have a choice," she said softly. "Obey him, yes—but survive, learn, and perhaps… you may even live beyond this night."
The assassin bowed her head. "I… I understand."
Vaelor turned his gaze back to Ruria, his eyes softening just slightly. "You have a strange sense of mercy, Ruria. But be careful. One day, she may test your loyalty as much as you have tested mine."
Ruria felt a shiver run down her spine. The woman now stood silently by the wall, her presence both obedient and alive with potential threat. She was beautiful, skilled, and dangerous—everything that could challenge Ruria's place at Vaelor's side.
As they returned to the castle's inner halls, Vaelor's hand brushed against Ruria's shoulder. "Do not fear her," he said quietly. "She will learn obedience. She will understand that her survival depends on serving me—and, by extension, on respecting you."
Ruria nodded, though unease lingered. She had saved this woman from death, and yet she sensed the subtle danger: the assassin's skill, her beauty, and her closeness to Vaelor could shift the delicate balance between them.
"Why did you save her?" Vaelor asked later that night as they stood on the balcony, overlooking the lands below. The assassin's presence was a quiet shadow in the castle behind them.
"Because," Ruria said, her voice firm, "killing is easy. Teaching, guiding… that takes courage. She is dangerous, yes, but she is also alive. And that… gives her the chance to change."
Vaelor's crimson eyes studied her, a storm of emotions flickering within them. "You are wise beyond your years, Ruria. And dangerously human."
Ruria shivered at the intensity of his gaze. "I am yours," she whispered. "I am always yours."
Vaelor's lips brushed her hair, cold yet electric. "And yet," he murmured, "even your mercy may test me."
The assassin watched silently from the shadows, her eyes flicking occasionally toward Ruria. In those brief moments, Ruria felt both protectiveness and jealousy. She realized that the woman, though bound and obedient, held the potential to unravel the delicate threads of her marriage, or perhaps even strengthen it, depending on how she was guided.
And Ruria understood that from this night onward, her trials would no longer be merely of skill or loyalty—they would also be tests of the heart, of desire, and of the fragile power she now wielded beside the Emperor who had conquered half the world alone.