Julian looked at her calmly, the last of his fiery rebellion thoroughly extinguished by the absolute, chilling reality of her words. He stood there, the weight of the empire settling squarely on his shoulders.
"You..." Julian started, his voice quiet. He swallowed the bitter taste of defeat. "They don't belong to me. None of this does."
Elara did not gloat. She simply watched him, her posture relaxed but utterly dominant.
Julian took a slow breath, his ice-blue eyes searching her flawless, unreadable face for any crack in the armor. "Do you love me, Elara?"
It was a sad, heavy question, stripped of all his usual arrogance.
Elara paused. For a fraction of a second, the flawless machinery of her mind stuttered. She looked down at her hands, then back up at him.
