Page 149 of Court of Aether and Shadows

"You've changed, Lord of Twilight and Shadows,” he taunted, but there’s no bite to it. “The Aetheron I knew would neverhave admitted to trusting me with anything, let alone his mate's safety."

"Perhaps we've both changed," I replied, watching our powers create impossible patterns in the air between us. "Time has a way of shifting perspectives."

"Your role in this," I said carefully, measuring each word, "goes beyond just teaching her magical control. She needs to understand her Omega nature before it overwhelms her. And since I can't be constantly present without stifling her growth..."

"You want me to guide her through that aspect as well," Helios finished, his celestial energy pulsing with understanding. "Though I notice you're entrusting this to me rather than the wolves."

"The wolves are part of her journey, yes, but they're also affected by her cycles. They'll be more of a hindrance than help when her first phase hits." My shadows curled thoughtfully. "Besides, you have...experience with Omega training."

Helios's perfect features softened slightly with old memories.

"Yes, well, that was a different time. A different Omega."

"But the principles remain the same," I pressed. "She needs time to process everything that's happened. To accept this world on her terms, not just because I'm pushing her toward it. She needs to choose this realm,this life,for herself."

"Like Liarel did," Helios murmured, then caught himself. "Though as you said, Sparrow is her own person. With her unique way of handling things."

"She's spent years surviving in a world that forced her to hide her strength. Now she needs space to discover what that strength truly means." I watched our powers continue their eternal dance. "Without me hovering in every shadow, without the weight of my expectations coloring her choices."

"So instead you're asking me to hover?" Helios's lips curved in slight amusement, repeating it yet again as if he still couldn’t believe I was allowing this.

The old possessive me wouldn’t dare let him go near her for a long time.I guess I have to further elaborate and accentuate what I’m allowing him to do without me necessarily interfering.

"I'm asking you to teach her. To help her understand and control what she's becoming." I met his iridescent gaze steadily. "And yes, to watch over her when I cannot. Though perhaps with slightly less... intensity than you're currently planning, with romantic interest in mind.”

"Romantic interest? Please," Helios scoffed, though something in his harmonious voice wavered slightly. "Your paranoia is showing, Twilight Lord."

I moved deliberately, each step closing the distance between us until we stood face to face in the narrow stairwell. Our powers sparked and clashed where they met, yet beneath the opposition, there was an undeniable pull — a yearning for unity that centuries apart hadn't managed to erase.

"Paranoia?"I murmured, watching how his perfect features tightened as our energies intertwined."Or observation?”

He doesn’t reply, encouraging our intense gaze to further build dangerously.

“I've seen how you look at her, Helios. The same way you used to look at..."

The air grew thick with unspoken history, making it difficult to breathe in the confined space. Our elements betrayed us, shadows and celestial light dancing together in patterns that spoke of ancient intimacy, of power shared and passion remembered.

"Don't,"Helios warned, though he made no move to step back. His iridescent robes brushed against my shadows, creatingsparks of energy that made both of us tense. "That was a different time. A different..."

"A different us?"I finished, noting how his pupils dilated as our powers continued their intimate dance. The stairwell felt smaller by the second, charged with tension that had nothing to do with rivalry and everything to do with suppressed desire.

We stood there, balanced on the knife's edge of propriety, both acknowledging the electricity between us while fighting against its pull. History and heat tangled in the air around us, making it impossible to tell where shadow ended and light began.

I leaned in until our lips were a breath apart, feeling how Helios's celestial energy pulsed in response.

"You haven't forgotten,"I murmured, my shadows caressing his light."The way we were before the world decided to dictate what love should look like."

Memories flooded between us, as potent as our mingling powers.

Centuries ago, when boundaries between courts were less rigid Helios and I had found something profound in our supposed opposition. Dawn meetings in secret gardens, where shadow and light created something beautiful rather than battling for dominance.

"Those moments between night and day,"I continued, watching his perfect composure waver."When the world slept and we could simply...be. No courts, no traditions, no expectations. Just us."

The stairwell crackled with ancient desire as I remembered how alive those days had made me feel. Helios had been the golden son of the Aether Court, with all proper manners and perfect control.

And I...well, I had always enjoyed corrupting perfection.

"I was already developing quite the reputation,"I mused, our powers dancing together like eager lovers."The shadow prince who delighted in breaking rules. And you..."My voice dropped lower, heavy with memory."You pretended to resist, but we both know how much you craved the darkness."

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