"Together, then," he says, and there's something in his voice—a weight, a significance—that makes me lift my head to look at him.

His eyes meet mine in the darkness, golden as a sunrise even in the dim morning light. There's an openness there that I've never seen before, the careful mask he usually wears completely gone.

"Together," I agree softly.

In the aftermath, we lie tangled together, his warmth both drying and heating the soaked blankets and sheets. He keeps me close, one arm curled protectively around my waist. Eventually, I feel his magic flare and the room grows hotter. Steam rises as he magically dries the water on the floor, my bed, and even our bodies. The warm magic feels his him. Like his hands all over my body again, lovingly wiping away every drop of water and making sure I’m perfectly dry.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

"Are you alright?" he asks, brushing the now dry hair from my forehead with gentle fingers.

I smile, stretching languidly beneath him. "More than alright."

He shifts, rolling to his side and drawing me against his chest. For several minutes, we simply exist together in comfortable silence. Content. Safe. Happy.

"When are you going to tell me?" I ask finally, tilting my head to look up at him.

His hand stills. "Tell you what?"

"Who you really are." I prop myself up on one elbow, studying his face in the moonlight. "I know you're not just some random fire affinity prince from some outlying island. That's what I thought at first. But... it doesn't feel right.”

His expression closes off, that careful mask slipping back into place. "Why do you say that?"

"The castle in your memories," I say. "The way you carry yourself. The way the other fire affinities look to you like you're..." I pause, the truth suddenly dawning on me. "Like you're their rightful leader."

He sits up, the blanket pooling around his waist as he runs a hand through his tousled hair. "I can't control how they look at me. None of them know who I am, either. And fuck. If they knew, they'd probably hate me, not bow to me."

I sit up beside him. "No more secrets, Raith. Not between us. We both swore oaths to each other. I swore that your fight was my fight, and I don't even know what that fight is."

He looks at me for a long moment, conflicted emotions battling in his eyes. Finally, he sighs, resignation settling over his features.

"I was born Raith Aurenciel," he says. "Crown Prince of the Red Kingdom."

The revelation hits me like a physical blow.

The Red Kingdom—Empire's greatest rival, the vast nation that has been at war with us for generations. My mind races, trying to reconcile the man I've come to love with this new information.