In the living room, Michael paced like a caged animal, his movements sharp and desperate. The hybrid's normally warm features were twisted with rage, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"Where is Pharraseus?" Ru'unan asked, closing the bedroom door quietly behind him.

Michael stopped his pacing, breath coming in harsh bursts. "Left. The moment we stepped out of the bedroom. Said he needed to inform the guards." His voice dripped with suspicion. "Convenient timing."

The Emperor nodded slowly, his eyes shifting to a calculating silver. "Michael, I need you to listen carefully." He guided the younger man to a seat, his tone measured and deliberate. "What happened to Ryaz was not a simple assault. We believe both he and Prince Kovax were victims of manipulation."

"Manipulation?" Michael spat the word. "That monster was inside him! Still is!"

"The dragon prince was drugged," Ru'unan said firmly. "Heavily. He's unconscious now, has no awareness of what transpired. Ryaz believes—and I find I agree—that this was orchestrated."

Michael's breathing slowed slightly, his eyes narrowing. "By who?"

The Emperor's gaze was steady. "That is what we must determine. But this changes everything, Michael. The implications for the Accords, for peace between our races..." He sighed heavily. "This will fundamentally alter the future we thought we were building."

Michael slumped, the rage draining from him, replaced by a hollow despair. "What about Ryaz? What happens to him now?"

"First, you must find Pharraseus," Ru'unan said, rising to his feet with renewed purpose. "I have questions that require immediate answers."

Michael stood as well, his expression hardening with resolve. "I'll find him."

The Emperor nodded once, and watched the young Fae-hybrid leave.

Ru’unan had some things to prepare himself. An ancient proposition and all the intelligent answers he could summon. He calls for a messenger to bring King Thaleus to the Fae suite immediately.

Pain lanced through Kovax's skull like molten steel poured directly into his brain, consciousness clawing its way back with jagged talons, dragging him from merciful darkness into harsh reality. The world swam into focus through a haze of throbbing agony—unfamiliar crimson silken sheets beneath him, the scent of fae magic heavy in the air like ozone before a thunderstorm, and something warm and trembling pressed against his chest. Someone.

He shifted his weight, muscles coiling as he tried to orient himself in the opulent bedchamber.

A pained cry shattered the silence, high and brittle as breaking crystal. "Stop! Please, don't move!"

Kovax's amber eyes flew open, pupils contracting to slits, the voice jolting him into full alertness. Prince Ryaz lay before him, his back facing the young dragon prince but his alabaster face, visible in the mirror opposite them, had contorted in agony. The Fae's copper hair was matted with sweat against his temples, his normally immaculate appearance in ruins, delicate pointed ears flushed pink at the tips.

"What the—" Kovax moved to pull away and Ryaz screamed again, the sound piercing straight through Kovax's hangover like a white-hot needle. Something connected to his pelvis tugged sharply at his loins and the fae Prince’s body moved with his.

"Don't!" Ryaz gasped, slender fingers whipping up and around, digging into Kovax's arm. "We're... connected. Your knot has locked us together."

Kovax froze, the words hitting him like a physical blow to his chest. He glanced down at their bodies, seeing how they were joined at the hips, and horror crashed over him in a suffocating wave of ice.

"How the hell did this happen?" The question tore from his throat, rough and desperate as smoke. His mind was a fractured landscape of disjointed memories—flashes of the hotel bar's crystal chandeliers, the burning need that had consumed him like dragonfire in his veins, the marble bathroom with its golden fixtures...

Ryaz's lilac eyes, now streaked with venomous green, met his. "You followed me into the bathroom," he whispered, each word clearly painful to speak through bloodless lips. "You were... not yourself. Drugged, I think. You forced yourself on me. No amount of fighting or begging on my part seemed able to dissuade you."

The fragments of memory crystallized like jagged shards of obsidian, filling Kovax with a revulsion that coated his tongue like copper. He remembered pushing Ryaz against the cold marble wall, his claws tore at the Fae's gossamer silk robes, shredding them like cobwebs. The prince's lilac eyes had widened, pupils contracting to pinpricks of terror while his pleas fell on Kovax's deaf ears. His stomach heaved, acid burning the back of his throat.

"I would never—" he began, then stopped, the words crumbling to ash in his mouth. Because he had. The evidence was irrefutable, their bodies still joined was evidence enough.

"I know," Ryaz said quietly. "I could smell something on your breath. Something wrong—like nightshade and dragonsbane mixed with iron filings."

A memory surfaced through the murk—servants with downcast eyes he didn't recognize, their fingers pale against the amber liquid as they brought drink after drink to his table. The strange bitter aftertaste he'd dismissed.

"Someone set us up," Kovax realized, bile rising in his throat. "But that doesn't—I can't believe I—" He shifted unconsciously and Ryaz hissed in pain.

"Please," Ryaz begged through clenched teeth. "Don't move."

"I'm sorry," Kovax whispered, the words pathetically inadequate, falling between them like dead leaves. "I'm so sorry."

From the dim, shadowy corner of the room, a voice suddenly pierced the silence, startling him thoroughly. "Your remorse, while admirable, changes nothing." Emperor Ru'unan emerged from the shadows, his presence as commanding as a tempestuous sea. “Though I gravely wish it did,” He solemnly admitted. Kovax hadn't even realized he was sitting there, blending seamlessly with the darkness. Caught in the compromising position he was in with the Fae Emperor’s son, Kovax could think of no other hell that could possibly worsen his predicament.

"I've sent for your father," Ru'unan continued. "He should arrive shortly."

The blood drained from Kovax's face, leaving it pale as alabaster. The thought of facing King Thaleus sent a shiver down his spine. The dragon king's temper was legendary, a fiery force of nature. Kovax knew that when Thaleus learned of what had transpired, the king's wrath would be swift and merciless.

And rightly so. What he had done was abhorrent.

"Your Majesty," Kovax began, his voice faltering, unsure of what words could possibly mitigate this catastrophic situation.

Ru'unan raised his hand, a silent command that cut through the tension like a blade, silencing him. "I will explain the circumstances to your father. The evidence suggests you were as much a victim of manipulation as my son."

Fear still coursed through Kovax like ice in his veins. In his homeland, an act of non-consensual mating was an offense punishable by death. To a Dragon, nothing was more sacred than the consensual union of mates. If his father did not end his life, Kovax felt certain he would take his own, driven by a sense of honor and guilt. He kept these thoughts to himself, a silent turmoil raging within.

"There is, however, one more consequence you must be made aware of," Ru'unan continued, his gaze shifting to his son. "Ryaz?"

The Fae prince closed his eyes, his expression a tapestry of sorrow and disbelief as fresh tears cascaded down his cheeks like rain. "I can feel it," he whispered, his voice fragile and trembling. "A spark. Life."

For a moment, confusion was all Kovax could summon, but as the words rolled around in his head, their meaning struck Kovax with the force of a physical blow. "You're—"

"Pregnant," Ru'unan confirmed, his voice grave as the weight of the revelation settled over them. 

“What? but you’re…” Kovax started but was stopped again by Ru’unan.

"Male fae go through a fertility cycle every five thousand years. When this happens, a male will grow a womb and become fertile.” He explained patiently, “And this week, Ryaz became fertile. Though none of us recognised the signs until we were here."

Kovax’s mind nearly shattered at the idea. “But we only just… I mean isn’t there time to...” Kovax tried to understand how they were so certain Ryaz was pregnant so soon after…

“Fae fertility cycles are rare but immensely powerful. When they occur, conception is all but guaranteed with a compatible mate." Ru’unan explained, his ancient eyes, filled with an inscrutable depth, bore into Kovax. "Your seed has taken root in my son's womb. A child of dragon and fae blood now grows within him."

Kovax felt as though the air had been stolen from his lungs. A child. His child. Growing inside the fae prince he had wronged. The gravity of his actions pressed down on him, suffocating and inescapable.

"The implications of this cannot be overstated," Ru'unan continued, his voice a solemn echo in the room. "If this child is born, it will face rejection from both our races. As long as the relations between dragons and fae remain as they are, your offspring will live with a target upon its back. Forever hunted, forever alone."

Kovax's chest tightened painfully, as though invisible bands were constricting around his heart. He knew the Emperor spoke the truth. Dragons barely tolerated half-breeds within their fiercely guarded territories. A half-fae half-dragon child would be viewed as an abomination, a living reminder of ancient feuds and deep-seated hatreds.

"Unless," Ru'unan said, his voice taking on a subtle, intriguing note, "this tragedy becomes an opportunity."

Kovax looked up sharply, his eyes searching the Emperor's face for clarity. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice tinged with both curiosity and disbelief.

"A formal union between our houses could change everything," the Emperor continued, his words deliberate and heavy with promise. "It could heal the wounds of the Great Divide, and fortify the Accords beyond anything we've managed in ten thousand years."

The suggestion lingered in the air between them, its implications vast and staggering. Kovax struggled to process it, his mind still shrouded in a fog of shame and the lingering effects of his hangover.

"You want me to... marry him?" The words felt foreign and awkward as they left his lips, as if they belonged to someone else.

Before him, Ryaz tensed, his posture rigid with tension. "Father, I can't—" He stopped, his voice catching as he swallowed hard. "Michael. What about Michael?"

Kovax frowned, the name was familiar but he couldn't place where from, but the mention of it cut through his confusion like a sharp blade. "Who?"

"The Royal Consort, Lord Michael Forrester," Ru'unan explained, his expression softening as he turned his gaze toward his son. "Ryaz's partner. They were planning to marry."

The revelation crashed over Kovax like a wave of icy water, shocking him to his core. Not only had he violated the Fae prince, but he had also shattered the man's future with someone he dearly loved. The weight of his actions—whether intentional or not—threatened to crush him completely.

"I didn't know," he whispered, though the words felt hollow and futile. What difference did it make now? The damage was irrevocably done.

Ryaz's breathing hitched, a tremor of emotion breaking through his stoic demeanor. "He must hate me now."

"He doesn't hate you," Ru'unan reassured his son, his voice gentle and soothing. "He's devastated, yes, as I’m sure the pair of you are too. But he understands you were victimized."

Kovax closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of Ryaz's tears in the mirror. Every breath brought with it the sweet scent of the Fae prince's fertility cycle—the very thing that had driven him to madness in that bathroom.

"In Dragon culture, what I have done is punishable by death. To mount without consent is blasphemous beyond measure. I'll do whatever is necessary," Kovax said finally, opening his eyes to meet the Emperor's gaze. "To make this right." He glanced at Ryaz. "And to give Prince Ryaz whatever justice he requires. Even if that means my life."

A knock at the door prevented Ru'unan from responding. The Emperor straightened, his face settling into a diplomatic mask.

"That will be your father," he said quietly, then paused for a moment. "Death need not be the end of this incident Prince Kovax. Admirable as your ethics are and honourable as your dedication to them may be, there is more here that needs assessing before such decisions are made.” He advised the young Dragon prince. "Prepare yourselves mentally. The next few hours will determine the fate of both our races."

Emperor Ru'unan slipped from the bedroom, closing the door with quiet precision. The soft click of the latch left Ryaz and Kovax in a silence that felt both fragile and suffocating.

Ryaz stared at the wall next to the mirror, acutely aware of every place their bodies connected. The knot binding them together had begun to shrink, no longer painful but still present and locking them together. He wanted to hate the dragon prince. By all rights, he should. 

"I want to hate you," Ryaz whispered, his voice raw from crying. "I've tried, but I can't."

Kovax turned his head, amber eyes widening with confusion. "Why not? I would hate me. I do hate me."

"Because you were a victim too." Ryaz winced as he shifted slightly. "We both were. Pawns in someone else's game."

"That doesn't excuse what I have done to you." Kovax's scales darkened along his jawline, shame evident in every line of his body. "I remember enough. I remember... hurting you."

Ryaz closed his eyes, the memories threatening to overwhelm him. "You weren't yourself."

"But it was still my body. My hands that—" Kovax's voice broke. "How can you not hate me?"

"Because hate won't change the situation we’re in right now." Ryaz's hand moved unconsciously to his abdomen. "And we can’t undo the past."

Kovax fell silent, his breathing ragged. After a long moment, he spoke again, his voice barely audible. "I'll do whatever you need. Even if... even if you want me gone. After this is over."

Ryaz felt a strange tug in his chest that had nothing to do with their physical connection. It was the same tug he'd felt when he first saw Kovax in the foyer after arriving in the human realm. A strange pull toward the dragon prince. "I don't know what I want yet."

As they lay in uneasy silence, Ryaz felt a subtle shift. The pressure inside him lessened as Kovax's knot finally began to release.

"It's... I think it's loosening," he murmured.

Kovax nodded, relief washing over his features. "I can feel it too."

Outside the bedroom, voices rose—one measured and calm, the other a building thunderstorm.