The rift snapped shut with a final crack that left the air smelling of ozone and burnt stone. Aiden stood at the edge of the crater, chest heaving, white hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood. Golden eyes stared at nothing.
Fresh fracture lines glowed under the torn edges of his collar, running down both arms like cracked glass lit from inside. A thin line of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
The Empress kept her arm around his waist longer than she needed to. Her grip was firm, fingers pressing just under the edge of his damaged breastplate.
"Lean on me," she said quietly, voice low enough that only he heard. "The troops are watching."
Aiden didnāt argue. His legs felt like they belonged to someone else. Together they walked back toward the forward command tent, her amber hair brushing his shoulder with every step.
Behind them, the surviving soldiers and nobles stayed silent. Catherineās words still hung over the field like smoke.
How many more times will you let her hold you up while we break?
No one repeated it out loud, but everyone had heard.
Inside the tent the air was thick with the smell of oiled canvas and old blood. The Empress guided Aiden to the central table and pushed him down onto a stool.
Without asking, she started unbuckling the straps of his left pauldron. Her hands moved steadily, clinical at first, then slower.
"Youāre fracturing faster every time," she said. She dipped a cloth in a basin of water and wiped the blood from his lips. The cloth came away red. "That last surge echoed straight through the bond. I felt it hit them too."
Aidenās jaw tightened. "They can handle it."
"Can they?" The Empress traced one glowing fracture line across his collarbone with her fingertip. The touch was light, but it sent a jolt through him that had nothing to do with pain.
"Catherine looked ready to drag every mother and daughter out of here. The nobles saw it. The troops saw it. You looked weak in front of both."
She leaned in closer to examine the damage on his chest. Her red eyes met his golden ones from less than a foot away. Her breath was warm against his skin.
"The new rift on the horizon is smaller," she continued, voice dropping. "But itās different. Itās pulling directly from your surges now.
Like itās learning how much you can give before the harem starts cracking with you. When the pain jumped to them, how bad was it for you?"
"Bad enough." Aidenās voice came out rough. He didnāt pull away when her fingers slid lower, tracing the edge of another fracture that disappeared under his armor.
The Empress smiled faintly. "You need to decide how much longer you let them drag you down. I can handle the disloyal ones if you want.
Quietly. Or not so quietly." Her hand moved to the next buckle on his armor. "Let me help you out of this before it cuts into you any deeper."
She worked the strap free. The metal piece came away with a soft clank. Her body shifted closer as she reached around him to loosen the side plates.
Amber hair fell across his bare shoulder. Their faces were inches apart now. Aiden could smell the faint scent of smoke and something sharper, like spiced wine, on her skin.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Then boots pounded outside the tent. A runner burst in, breathing hard.
"Lord Commander, reports coming in. Three squads from the eastern companies have deserted. They took their gear and headed toward the supply road. The nobles are talking openly now. Theyāre saying the harem is cursed and youāre letting it kill us all."
The Empress straightened but kept one hand resting on Aidenās arm, possessive in front of the soldier. "Send riders after the deserters. Bring back the leaders alive if possible. The rest can hang as examples."
The runner saluted and left.
Aiden exhaled slowly. "Summon Catherine and Sabrina. Now."
---
Half a mile away, near the supply wagons behind the defensive wall, the harem women had gathered in a loose circle. Torches flickered. The air still carried the distant rumble of settling stone from the sealed rift.
Catherine stood with her arms crossed, shoulder to shoulder with Sabrina. Both women still had fresh blood on their armor.
Flora paced a few steps away, jaw clenched. Luna sat on an overturned crate, staring at her hands.
Sabrina spoke first, voice flat. "You said what we were all thinking, Catherine. Heās replacing us while we bleed for him. Every surge pulls more out of us now. I felt it hit Luna like a hammer."
Catherine nodded once. "And I felt it hit Flora. Iām done watching my daughter pay for his power. If walking away means the fractures kill us, then we find another way. But I wonāt keep pretending this bond is worth it."
Flora stopped pacing and turned on her mother. "Your little speech just painted targets on all of us.
The Empress looked like she won the war. Aiden looked like a man who canāt control his own women anymore. What do you think the nobles are going to do with that?"
"I think theyāre going to do what they always do," Catherine said. "Look for weakness. Better they see it now than when weāre all dead because he canāt stop pushing us."
Luna lifted her head. Her voice was quiet but steady. "The fractures connect everything. If we break the bond, what happens to us? Do we just shatter too?"
Sabrinaās expression hardened. "Iād rather burn the whole connection than watch you die for him, Luna. Youāre my daughter. Not his tool."
Isolde moved through the group like smoke. She stopped beside Catherine first.
"The troops heard every word," she said softly. "Some of them are already whispering that the mothers are finished kneeling. Itās spreading faster than the fractures."
Then Isolde turned to Flora and Luna. "Your mothers just chose you over him in front of the entire army. That changes everything. Whether you like it or not."
Flora glared at her. "Donāt stir this more than it already is."
"Iām not stirring," Isolde replied. "Iām stating facts. The formation is broken. You can feel it in the bond. So can he."
---
Back in the command tent, Catherine and Sabrina arrived together. They stopped just inside the flap, eyes flicking to the Empress seated beside Aiden, her hand still resting openly on his forearm.
Aiden looked up. The fracture lines on his arms pulsed faintly. "Catherine. Sabrina. We need to talk about the new rift."
Catherineās gaze stayed cold. "Talk then."
"The Dungeon is adapting faster," Aiden said. "The next tear is smaller but itās feeding off the surges directly. We canāt afford more public displays like what happened out there."
"Public displays?" Catherineās voice was sharp. "You mean me saying out loud what everyone can already see? Youāre leaning on her more every fight. While we take the echo damage. While our daughters take it worse."
Sabrina added, "Mothers come first. Thatās not changing. Not after today."
The Empress leaned back slightly, but her hand didnāt leave Aidenās arm. "Careful. The nobles are already gathering troops. Your little stand gave them exactly the excuse they needed."
Catherine met the Empressās red eyes without flinching. "Then maybe they see the truth. Weāre not disposable."
Aidenās golden eyes narrowed. Pain flared through the bond as his anger rose. He felt it echo back to all four women. Flora and Luna werenāt here, but he knew they felt it too.
Before he could speak again, Catherine continued. "From now on, both mother-daughter pairs fight together. No more separating us into support roles. We stay paired. Thatās not a request."
Sabrina nodded once.
The Empressās lips curved in a faint smile. She said nothing.
Aidenās fingers tightened on the edge of the table. "Youāre making this harder than it has to be."
"No," Catherine said. "Weāre making it clear. We protect our daughters first. Everything else comes after."
A scout pushed into the tent, face pale. "Lord Commander. The new rift is already growing. Faster than the last one. We have maybe four hours before it stabilizes."
Aiden met the Empressās red eyes. The air between them felt thick again.
"We move at dusk," he said.