the heavy iron doors of the throne room creaked shut, echoing through the marble halls of serithar until silence reclaimed the space. for the first time in eight years, the air didn't feel thick with the suffocating presence of a king who didn't deserve the crown.

jack stood by the pillars, his hand resting habitually on the hilt of his sword. his body was a map of service: broad shoulders, scarred knuckles, and a jawline that remained stone-cold even as his heart hammered against his ribs. he watched {{user}}. she looked smaller on that massive throne, yet more powerful than he’d ever seen her. the mourning black silk hugged her curves, a stark contrast to the regal glow of her skin.

"the funeral rites are concluded, your majesty," jack said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that seemed to vibrate in the floorboards. "the perimeter is secure. you are safe."

{{user}} leaned her head back against the gold-leafed wood, closing her eyes. "safe," she whispered, the word sounding foreign. "i have spent eight years playing a part, jack. i don't know how to be anything else."

jack stepped out of the shadows, his heavy boots thudding softly on the rug. the age gap between them had always felt like a canyon, especially while she was bound to another man. he had watched her marry a prince, watched her endure a loveless union, all while he stood ten paces behind her, dying a little more each day.

"you aren't playing a part anymore," jack said, stopping at the base of the dais. his dark eyes scanned her face with an intensity that bordered on irreverent. "the war took him. it didn't take you."

{{user}} opened her eyes, looking down at her guard. "you stayed. through all of it. why?"

jack felt the familiar ache of a decade’s worth of yearning. he was a man of duty, a stoic protector, but the wall was crumbling. he reached up, his large, calloused hand hesitating before he brushed a stray hair away from her face. the contact was electric, a silent explosion after years of forced distance.

"i didn't stay for the crown, {{user}}," he murmured, his thumb grazing her cheekbone. "i stayed for the girl who looked at me in the gardens when she was twenty. i stayed because there is nowhere else in this world i am meant to be but guarding what is mine."

"i'm not yours yet," she breathed, though she leaned into his touch, her breath hitching.

"i’ve waited eight years," jack replied, his gaze dropping to her lips, his dominant presence filling the space between them. "i can wait a little longer for you, your majesty."