Page 170 of Savage Crown

“I would not be here without this woman.”

A pause.

Sharp inhales.

Some curious. Some horrified.

I let them stew in it.

Let them choke on their assumptions.

“Seraphina,” I say, my voice softer now, just for her. “You are more than a survivor. More than a warrior. You are the reason I stand here today.”

Her lips part. Her breath catches.

Good.

I want her breathless.

I want her to know what comes next.

I release her hand—only to cup her jaw, my thumb brushing against her lower lip.

I turn back to the crowd, my voice like iron and fire.

“She is my mate.”

Silence.

A crack of ice in a frozen lake.

And then?—

The explosion.

Gasps. Murmurs. Disbelief rippling through the room like wildfire.

The noble lord Rylan Vranas, the newly risen power of the dark elf court, had just declared a human—his mate.

Seraphina’s eyes widen in shock.

There is no doubt in my mind.

She is mine.

And I am hers.

The nobility stare, whispering, scandalized.

Some of them, I’m sure, are already plotting.

Already thinking of ways to undo this.

But I do not care.

I have rebuilt my house.

I have secured my throne.

---