Chapter 77: Don’t…

Helios and Ezra walked side by side.

The compound had quieted. Most knights had already dispersed to their quarters. The path toward Helios’ palace was almost empty, lit only by dim lanterns and the fading glow of the evening sky.

It was getting darker.

Ezra kept his eyes forward, but his mind was elsewhere.

’Get yourself together, Ezra,’ he scolded himself, jaw tightening. ’Imagine if you had forgotten Lior somewhere unfamiliar. Imagine getting home and realizing he had been waiting.’

Of all the things he could afford to be careless about, that was not one of them.

And yet just because he had allowed himself to enjoy the day, he had forgotten something so simple.

’Stupid. You are stupid,’ he thought harshly. ’Do not let this happen again.’

He exhaled sharply through his nose.

’You even almost stabbed Helios.’

That one made his stomach twist.

A massive disappointment—

“Don’t do that.”

Ezra blinked and turned. “Huh?”

Helios didn’t look at him. His gaze stayed forward.

“I know that look,” Helios said quietly. “You make a small mistake and then you punish yourself for it ten times over.”

Ezra’s steps faltered slightly. “How did you—”

“Like I said. I know you.” Helios let out a soft sigh. “You forget that you’re still human, Ezra. You are allowed to make mistakes. Forgetting that Lior is at my palace is not a catastrophe. It is a simple oversight.”

Ezra frowned.

“I just… can’t believe I would make such a small one,” he admitted.

It was true. He held himself to a higher standard. Always had.

Making a tactical error was one thing.

Forgetting where his son was supposed to be?

That felt careless.

Helios finally glanced at him.

“You already realized it,” he said. “And like I have told you countless times, if no one is dead, then it is still fixable.”

He raised a brow slightly. “Did someone die?”

“No.”

“Then it is fixable.” Helios’ voice softened. “Be more mindful next time. That is all. There is no need to drag yourself through unnecessary guilt.”

Ezra exhaled slowly.

Helios was right.

He hated that he was right.

’I am making this larger than it needs to be,’ he admitted inwardly. ’Again.’

He nodded once. “You are right.”

“I know,” Helios replied lightly, the corner of his mouth lifting.

Ezra let out a quiet chuckle despite himself.

For a few steps, they walked in silence.

Then Helios spoke again.

“Now that you are no longer spiraling,” he said casually, “I hope you do not mind if I ask something.”

Ezra hummed. “About what?”

“The drink you are supposed to have with Aurien.”

Ezra blinked.

Oh.

Right.

He remembered the way Helios had looked at him earlier.

’It almost felt like he was accusing me,’ Ezra thought briefly. ’Which is ridiculous. Helios would never—’

“What about the drink?” he asked evenly.

“You mentioned you were looking forward to it.”

“Yes?”

“Why?”

Ezra tilted his head slightly. “I’m sorry. Why?”

Helios’s gaze flicked to him. “Why are you looking forward to it?”

Ezra frowned faintly.

’That is… oddly specific,’ he thought. ’Why does he want to know that?’

He answered honestly anyway.

“As I told you earlier, he has changed. A lot. He is sharper. More confident. We seem to think similarly when it comes to battle now.”

He hesitated briefly.

“There is a small… ruthless side to him that I did not expect.”

His lips curved faintly.

“I believe he will be pleasant company.”

It was the truth.

There was nothing deceptive about it.

Well.

Almost nothing.

A small memory surfaced.

Aurien’s face when he had mentioned Lior.

That look.

’Oh.’

Ezra cleared his throat lightly.

“Actually, Helios, I also wanted to ask you something—”

“You have never shown interest in anyone before,” Helios repeated, quieter now. “Not even the old Sunward Sentinels.”

Ezra froze mid-step.

He turned fully toward him. “Helios.”

There was no bite in his voice. No sarcasm. Just confusion.

“I am not interested in Prince Aurien,” he said, steady but firm. “Not in the way you seem to be implying.”

Helios didn’t respond.

“I’m curious,” Ezra continued, more controlled now. “That’s all. He changed. A lot. Five years is not a short time. I want to understand what happened. That does not mean I—”

He stopped himself.

’Why am I explaining myself like I have done something wrong?’

A faint crease formed between his brows. Now that they were alone, with no knights around, no titles between them but habit, he had to ask.

“Why are you acting so strange?”

Helios’ jaw tightened.

For the briefest second, something flickered in his eyes. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t amusement.

It was something unsettled.

Before Ezra could shift his weight back, Helios moved.

He stepped forward and caught Ezra by the arms, fingers wrapping firmly around his biceps.

Not rough.

But solid.

Possessive in a way that made Ezra’s breath hitch.

“Helios,” Ezra said carefully, searching his face. “What is going on with you?”

Helios’ grip tightened.

“I feel…” he began.

His voice faltered.

“I feel…”

He swallowed, throat moving under Ezra’s gaze.

“I feel something.”

Ezra’s brows drew together.

“What do you feel?” he asked, concern slipping through despite himself. “Helios, you’re not making sense.”

Helios didn’t answer.

Instead, one of his hands slowly released Ezra’s arm.

It lifted.

Hovered.

Then settled against Ezra’s cheek.

Warm.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

Because this wasn’t new. Helios had touched him like this before. After missions. After arguments. In quiet corridors where no one could see.

But this felt different.

Helios wasn’t looking at him like a prince assessing his captain.

He wasn’t looking at him like a strategist.

He was looking at him like—

Just Helios.

Ezra’s breath caught in his throat.

And then he felt it.

At first, it was barely noticeable.

A shift in the air.

A subtle weight.

Then it thickened.

Heat unfurled around him.

Not his.

Helios’.

It rolled over his senses without warning.

Helios’ pheromones.

Strong.

Sharp.

Dominant.

Ezra’s eyes widened.

“Helios,” he managed, but his voice came out thinner than he intended. “Why are you—”

The scent intensified.

It wrapped around him like invisible hands.

Pressed against his skin.

Slid into his lungs.

Heavy.

His chest tightened as if the air itself had grown dense.

His heartbeat slammed against his ribs.

’What is he doing? If this continues—’

His knees weakened.

His fingers twitched at his sides.

The world felt too close. Too warm.

His thoughts blurred at the edges.

He tried to steady himself, to draw a proper breath, but it came shallow and uneven.

“Stop,” he meant to say.

But the word never fully formed.

His thoughts blurred.

It was like the alley again.

Like those men.

That same suffocating dominance crashing into him without warning. It pressed against his skin, seeped into his lungs, coiled tight around his nerves and pulled.

Stealing control.

Ezra tried to step back.

The ground didn’t feel steady beneath his boots.

The world tilted sideways.

’He’s going to trigger my heat at this point.’

Panic flickered sharp and cold beneath the haze.

His fingers twitched uselessly at his sides. He willed them to move, to push Helios away, to create space.

They wouldn’t listen.

His arms felt heavy. Weak.

He couldn’t lift them.

Couldn’t steady himself.

Helios’ scent surrounded him completely now. It wasn’t just in the air. It was on him. Around him. Inside him.

Overpowering.

Ezra’s breath hitched, shallow and uneven, chest rising too fast.

His heart pounded so loudly he could hear it in his ears.

His vision began to dim at the edges, shadows creeping inward.

’Why can’t I move?’

His knees buckled.

He hit the ground harder than he meant to, palms barely catching himself before his face met the stone. The impact jarred up his arms.

And just like that—

The pressure vanished.

Instantly.

The air cleared as if a suffocating door had been thrown open. The weight lifted from his skin. The scent receded.

Ezra sucked in a sharp, desperate breath, lungs burning as they finally filled properly.

Helios staggered back a step as though he had been struck instead.

“Ezra…?”

His voice sounded disoriented.

Confused.

Ezra pushed himself upright on trembling arms, chest still heaving. His body felt wrong. Too light. Too shaky.

Helios looked down at him as if he did not understand what had just happened.

As if he hadn’t felt it.

As if he hadn’t been the source of it.

Helios stepped forward instinctively, hand lifting.

“Ezra, what—”

“Don’t touch me!”

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