Page 29 of Bound to the Marak

He did not look down. He looked at her.

And she… stared.

Her breath caught.

Her pupils dilated. Her mouth parted.

Not in horror. Not in disgust.

Just—awe.

And fear. Of course. But it wasn’t revulsion that flared in her gaze.

It was something far more dangerous.

It wasadmiration.

Karian said nothing at first. He held her gaze, let her see him fully. Let her study him. No one—not even the other Marak—had looked at him like this. Not since his ascension. The mask had always been power. Tradition. Shield.

Now, it was gone.

And she saw him.

That should have made him feel vulnerable.

Instead, it pleased him.

Deeply.

“I need to know your name,” he said at last. His voice was softer now, unfiltered. The words resonated low in his chest, carried to her ears without the translator’s veil.

She blinked once. Then again.

Her voice came, quiet. Trembling, but clear.

“Leonie.”

He repeated it immediately. “Leonie.”

And again, slower. “Le-o-nie.”

The name was strange. It moved oddly in his mouth. The syllables caught on his tongue like starlight over dark water. But it suited her—unexpected, sharp-edged, and alive.

Leonie.

He let it rest in the air between them like a jewel.

“I watched you,” he said. “During the descent.”

Her jaw tensed.

“I saw your fear.”

“You left me,” she said. “Strapped to a chair. Alone.”

“Yes.”

It was a quiet acknowledgment. No justification. No lies.

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